Minutes:
38.1.
The Chair introduced Ms Proctor, Senior Engineer, and Mr Ashton,
Transport Policy Development Manager, from Suffolk Highways who
gave a presentation on proposed road improvement schemes in South
East Ipswich with the following key points:
·
Countywide transport model had been built to consider the future
growth of traffic and how it would move around South East Ipswich;
this model would then be used to model the impact of the proposed
schemes.
·
The road improvement schemes were jointly funded, with
£3.5million from the New Anglian LEP and £1.5million
from Suffolk County Council (SCC), and schemes were due to be
delivered in South East Ipswich as part of the first tranche of
improvements.
·
Landseer Road/Clapgate Lane: 6-week
scheme already underway with street lighting upgrade, replacement
of traffic signals that would be triggered by presence of traffic
and renewal of footway to Cotman Road.
·
Maryon Road/Nacton Road (by the Golden Hind PH): Street
lighting to be upgraded, traffic signals to be updated, carriageway
to be widened to two lanes that would merge again just past the
Golden Hind PH. 8-week scheme to
commence in January 2018.
·
Bixley Road/Foxhall Road: Street lighting to be upgraded, bus
stop and pedestrian crossing to be moved in order to create two
lanes on the approach to the Heath Road roundabout to increase
capacity. Works to commence in January 2018.
·
St Augustine’s roundabout: Carriageway to be widened on the
approach to St Augustine’s roundabout from the Warren Heath
roundabout. Street lighting and traffic
signals to be upgraded and a new pedestrian crossing to be added.
Works to take place in March – August 2018.
·
Nacton Road/Landseer Road/Rands Way roundabout: Public consultation for this
scheme was about to commence, with 4,000 letters to be issued to
local residents giving details of the consultation events. The
proposed scheme would remove the roundabout, close off Rands Way and install traffic signals. This design
was in response to high level of maintenance to the kerbs on this
roundabout and a number of minor accidents involving cyclists and
pedestrians. The consultation would run
from 6 November to 4 December 2017.
Further details could be found on the website: www.suffolk.gov.uk/ipswichimprovements.
38.2.
Local resident: Has a risk assessment been done for the closure of
Rands Way as many ambulances go past
Rands Way and closing if off would
result in a longer response time for ambulances.
All of the emergency services would be consulted on the
proposed changes as part of the consultation process.
38.3.
Local resident: I have lived by this junction for 59 years and have
seen cars end up in gardens, motorcycle accidents and three
different types of roundabout over that time. Traffic lights would be a good idea, but do not
close off Rands Way as this provides an
alternative route onto Kings Way/Felixstowe Road if traffic gets
backed up.
38.4.
Local resident: There are often buses
parked outside the Tesco on Nacton Road
and sometimes a bus parked on the other side of the road; any
traffic wanting to turn left out of Landseer Road to get to Queens
Way would be backed up to Landseer Road.
In light of the growth in traffic, it won’t be
possible to solve all traffic issues, so the focus has been put on
improving the traffic flow along the radial routes.
38.5.
Local resident: I have already submitted 12 points in relation to
the proposals. If you close off
Rands Way, how can you stop traffic
from using Nacton Crescent and going
along Gorse Road?
The transport model would be analysed to identify which
routes traffic would be diverted to and then consideration would be
given to what measures could be used to mitigate
this.
38.6.
Councillor Cook: Most of the improvement schemes are good, but I
have concerns over the Rands Way
proposal as this is part of a major route through the
town. The alternative routes to using
Rands Way need to be identified, e.g.
Hatfield Road, Alan Road, Clapgate
Lane, most of these would be 20% longer. It is important that the whole network is
improved, not just that junction.
Turning right out of Lindbergh Road onto Nacton Road is also a nightmare.
38.7.
Councillor Debman: People have lobbied for a pedestrian crossing
for Maryon Road as cars that turn right
into this road do not stop for pedestrians trying to cross
Maryon Road. Closing off Rands Way
will have an impact on local businesses too. If traffic lights are installed for the
Rands Way junction, would this replace
the pedestrian crossing on Nacton
Road?
Yes, that pedestrian crossing would be moved to be
integrated with the traffic signals for the Rands Way junction.
38.8.
Local resident: There has been a lot of disruption over the
years. Reducing the speed limit seemed
unnecessary and blocking off Rands Way
seems like a bad idea as this would result in two sets of traffic
lights close together.
Nacton Road
and Landseer Road have the highest traffic levels in the area,
improvements to this junction would maximise the benefit for
everyone.
38.9.
Local resident: The lane restriction on
Maryon Road makes it very difficult for
traffic turning right into Maryon Road
off of Nacton Road during busy periods
as traffic cannot pass the queue of traffic waiting to turn out of
Maryon Road. Could this lane
restriction be replaced with speed bumps instead?
This would be looked at to see if this was
possible.
38.10.Councillor
Barber: Many of the Rands Way residents
are against the proposal to close this road off; what is the
benefit to local residents? Consideration needs to be given to the
impact on Rands Way and Queens Way and
other residents in the area.
Some residents were supportive as traffic was already
using Rands Way as a rat
run.
The Chair reported that there would be extensive public consultation on the proposals, as per the letter being sent out to local residents. For further information, call: 0345 603 1842 or email: