Residents and businesses in Bridgwater are invited to have their say on the one-way traffic system in place in the Eastover area and options for potential changes.
A southbound one-way system was introduced on Salmon Parade as part of the Bridgwater Town Deal Celebration Mile project, and a north-bound one-way system was introduced on East Quay. Wider pavements, a new cycle lane and a west-bound one-way system were also introduced on Eastover as part of the project.
The scheme was funded by the Government as part of the Bridgwater Town Deal and aims to enhance the visitor experience in key areas of the town and improve cycling and walking provision. It was delivered by Somerset Council having been designed, consulted and approved by the former Sedgemoor District Council and endorsed by the Bridgwater Town Deal Board.
A review of East Quay and Salmon Parade was commissioned in response to a Full Council motion in December, tabled by Councillor Leigh Redman, and a petition.
A report on the review, which combined live traffic data aimed at measuring the effect of the project on traffic in Bridgwater as well as five potential options, was discussed by Somerset Council’s Executive Committee on 3 June.
Recommendations made by Executive included a consultation with residents and businesses on the scheme and the options, which commences today and runs for six weeks closing on 11 August.
You can take part in this here. The survey is comprehensive and aims to gather as much information as possible. It will take around 20-30 minutes to complete.
The independent review by Stantec looked at five options for East Quay and Salmon Parade:
• Maintain the existing arrangement along with the additional parking already introduced.
• Option A: Reversal of Salmon Parade (to northbound, allowing traffic to flow up past Town Bridge and continuing north onto East Quay).
• Option B: Two-way traffic on both roads.
• Option C: One-way traffic southbound down East Quay onto Salmon Parade.
• Option D: One-way traffic southbound down East Quay, one-way traffic northbound up Salmon Parade with all traffic exiting over the town bridge.
The report concluded none of the options would deliver a significant reduction in traffic congestion across Bridgwater, and that the project itself had not had a significant impact on the road network in terms of congestion. While Option A and B would improve traffic journey times on some routes to a degree, they would at the same time draw more traffic through the town centre seriously impacting on the environment for cyclists and pedestrians.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Roads said:
We’ve listened to the early feedback and committed to a full consultation to give everyone the chance to have their say.
We want to hear from as many people as possible and get a wide range of views, from motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, people who live in the area, business owners as well as people who regularly visit the area, and everybody else in between!
This information will feed into a report which along with the views of key stakeholders in Bridgwater will help inform the next steps. We are aiming to get to this point at September’s Executive Committee.
Please do take the time to do the survey if you can.
