Chelmsford Army & Navy Bus Gateway Proposal
Discussion
For those of you who know Chelmsford, you will be aware of the nightmare that is the Army & Navy roundabout. The 20th century solution to traffic problems in Chelmsford was to build a 4 lane 'expressway' (Milton Keynes style) right through the middle of town. The main feeder for this, 5 roads bringing traffic from out of town into the town centre, is the Army & Navy roundabout. There is no inner ring road, and for cross town journeys it is pretty well unavoidable.
Nobody can deny that there is a serious problem here, and the local council estimates that the city's roads are running at 95% capacity. But one of the proposed solutions is to build a bus gateway into the roundabout from the direction of Great Baddow.
http://greatbaddow.org.uk/baddow-blog/will-baddow-...
This will deny access to all but buses 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Out of town traffic to the Army & Navy is already using the Baddow by-pass, so the motorists affected by this the most will be local Baddow residents using the old Baddow road. The council glibly suggest that these will have to use other routes, or one of three cycle ways that are being constructed. The route into town along Baddow Road will now be empty of cars to allow for 15 buses an hour (at peak times) to use it exclusively.
There are only two alternative routes. One of these is via a residential road through the middle of the Moulsham Lodge Estate (several schools on the way) heading out of town towards the Miami Roundabout (another bundle of fun) and via New London Road towards Parkway, a road that is already restricted by a bus only lane, which will be more severely enforced by cameras as part of the same programme of improvements.
The other route is to divert traffic through Baddow Village (heading out of town again) to intersect with the Baddow by-pass at the junction there, thus joining all the incoming traffic already using this route. On the way, this traffic will have to negotiate the notorious narrow stretch in Maldon Road, passable with care by two cars, but anything larger needing to take turns to get through. There is a narrow pavement, and the chance of getting struck by wing mirrors on vans and trucks is very real. This is the section.
A nice additional touch is that any traffic, including trucks, that inadvertently get as far as the bus gateway will be directed off through the Meadgate Estate back to Baddow Village, along roads that buses already struggle to get through.
Needless to say, Great Baddow residents (like myself) are up in arms, a petition has been raised, and there is a village hall meeting next week. What was the only logical route into the town centre has now become a trip out to the outskirts of Chelmsford, through unsuitable roads, and a journey back in with all the longer district traffic.
The council say the driver for this is air quality in Baddow Road, yet there are no exceptions for electric vehicles. I had a loan of a Toyota hybrid a few weeks ago while my own car was being repaired, and I can testify that in traffic along Baddow Road, the car was doing the whole journey on battery power only. And what are the only vehicles to be allowed through? Yes, our fleet of bone-shaker ageing diesel buses.
Do any Pistonheaders have experience of this sort of idiocy where they live, and is there any advice on best how to fight it?
Nobody can deny that there is a serious problem here, and the local council estimates that the city's roads are running at 95% capacity. But one of the proposed solutions is to build a bus gateway into the roundabout from the direction of Great Baddow.
http://greatbaddow.org.uk/baddow-blog/will-baddow-...
This will deny access to all but buses 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Out of town traffic to the Army & Navy is already using the Baddow by-pass, so the motorists affected by this the most will be local Baddow residents using the old Baddow road. The council glibly suggest that these will have to use other routes, or one of three cycle ways that are being constructed. The route into town along Baddow Road will now be empty of cars to allow for 15 buses an hour (at peak times) to use it exclusively.
There are only two alternative routes. One of these is via a residential road through the middle of the Moulsham Lodge Estate (several schools on the way) heading out of town towards the Miami Roundabout (another bundle of fun) and via New London Road towards Parkway, a road that is already restricted by a bus only lane, which will be more severely enforced by cameras as part of the same programme of improvements.
The other route is to divert traffic through Baddow Village (heading out of town again) to intersect with the Baddow by-pass at the junction there, thus joining all the incoming traffic already using this route. On the way, this traffic will have to negotiate the notorious narrow stretch in Maldon Road, passable with care by two cars, but anything larger needing to take turns to get through. There is a narrow pavement, and the chance of getting struck by wing mirrors on vans and trucks is very real. This is the section.
A nice additional touch is that any traffic, including trucks, that inadvertently get as far as the bus gateway will be directed off through the Meadgate Estate back to Baddow Village, along roads that buses already struggle to get through.
Needless to say, Great Baddow residents (like myself) are up in arms, a petition has been raised, and there is a village hall meeting next week. What was the only logical route into the town centre has now become a trip out to the outskirts of Chelmsford, through unsuitable roads, and a journey back in with all the longer district traffic.
The council say the driver for this is air quality in Baddow Road, yet there are no exceptions for electric vehicles. I had a loan of a Toyota hybrid a few weeks ago while my own car was being repaired, and I can testify that in traffic along Baddow Road, the car was doing the whole journey on battery power only. And what are the only vehicles to be allowed through? Yes, our fleet of bone-shaker ageing diesel buses.
Do any Pistonheaders have experience of this sort of idiocy where they live, and is there any advice on best how to fight it?
Thanks for your reply OBob. I am glad you are young and fit enough to cycle. Unfortunately for a 68 year old like me, in poor health and hobbling about on a stick, walking and cycling are not options.
I believe there are 500 plus on the petition already, and the comments under the website I linked to are pretty unanimous, apart from the bus driver.
Actually, I do have an alternative. I don't see how this can be justified on a 24/7 basis. Why not rush hour only? Buses don't even run 24/7. Why not electric vehicles exempt? I would also like to see the studies that show that this scheme would not merely shift the congestion and the pollution elsewhere?
I believe there are 500 plus on the petition already, and the comments under the website I linked to are pretty unanimous, apart from the bus driver.
Actually, I do have an alternative. I don't see how this can be justified on a 24/7 basis. Why not rush hour only? Buses don't even run 24/7. Why not electric vehicles exempt? I would also like to see the studies that show that this scheme would not merely shift the congestion and the pollution elsewhere?
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