Minutes:
Council received the following question from Gareth Vaughan-Williams:
“Now that planning approval has been given for work to the Link Road, what measures will the Council take to make sure that the impacts of increased traffic on the local communities will be mitigated?
The County Council’s own studies predict that even with the Link Road widening and junction improvements in place, rush hour traffic on some of Barnstaple’s residential streets will increase by 30%. Some of these roads, like South Street and Bishops Tawton Road where I live, are not designed to cope with the amount of traffic they are already getting. Cars and lorries regularly mount the pavements, putting pedestrians lives at risk, parked cars are regularly damaged and residents’ houses vibrate every time a lorry goes by. Journeys on foot and by bicycle are suppressed and the quality of life of the whole neighbourhood is affected.
Increased volumes of traffic are bound to exacerbate these problems and to lead to more problems of rat running, increased risk to pedestrians and potential damage to listed buildings. I have tried bringing these matters to the attention of the County Council, but their response has been underwhelming. Can I ask that the District Council give the issue of increased traffic in Barnstaple’s residential streets the scrutiny it deserves?”
In response to the question, the Leader advised “Thank you for your enquiry.
When a planning application is submitted to the District Council for it to determine as local planning authority, the impact of the development on the highway network is an issue that is given consideration. The District Council will consult with the Highway Authority, DCC, who will provide its views on each relevant application. Those views are then taken into account by the District Council when taking the decision. In that regard, traffic issues are scrutinised as part of the process. Because the question raises general concerns, the District Council has passed a copy of the question to DCC who have responded as follows:-
“With the significant level of growth identified in the Local Plan for the Bideford and Barnstaple areas, traffic growth will occur. The function of the A39/A361 strategic corridor will be vital to future traffic management in the Northern Devon area and for supporting the local economy. Without improvements to this corridor the impacts of traffic growth on some other routes like South Street are likely to be worse than if we do nothing.
To mitigate the worst impacts of traffic growth on the town’s local road network, the transport strategy and infrastructure delivery plan for the local plan does support improvements to the junctions on the A361/A39 corridor. It also supports investment in walking, cycling and bus infrastructure in promoting alternatives to using the car for local trips and for encouraging travel into and around Barnstaple by bus from the surrounding major road network.
It is important that new developments both help to deliver elements of new highway infrastructure to access their sites and contribute towards the delivery of initiatives to promote alternatives to using the car, particularly for short distance trips or trips that could be made by more sustainable means.
South Street, along with many other routes into and around the town will remain important main road routes for the town as traffic volumes increase. Restrictions to these routes would reduce the network resilience, reducing the option of alternative routes in the case of a road closure or traffic collision elsewhere on the network. To reduce issues with vehicles mounting pavements on South Street and to maintain the street’s good safety record, it has been recommended that previous parking management changes are revisited and that local pavement improvements also be considered if there is support from adjacent property owners”.
Any further questions about the strategic approach to traffic management should be addressed to DCC or to the local DCC members”.