Last night I attended my first Parish Council meeting which was a very interesting experience.
Following on from the bypass drop in session held last month for local residents, the Parish Council are meeting with Rob Cramer from Cheshire East Council's Highways Office on Wednesday 21st April to discuss traffic management in the village once the bypass is completed.
A number of actions are being considered to limit the ammount of through traffic using the A34 once the bypass is open, including the introduction of a weight limit to prevent heavy goods vehicles using London Road, reclassifying it as a B road, changing the timings of the traffic lights and adding more pedestrian crossings. The Parish Council are also keen to see Ryleys Lane changed to a B road.
A number of roads in the village have either been completely resurfaced or patched up recently, which the Parish Council have been campaigning to have done for some time. It was felt that other roads and pavements which are in need of major refurbishment are unlikely to be done this year, however a priority list of half a dozen areas will be drawn up and sent to Cheshire East Council.
There was nothing new to report regarding the building of a new Medical Centre at the front of the Festival Hall. Plans for the Doctors Surgery on George Street to relocate to new premises at the Festival Hall have reached a stalemate over finances.
The Parish Council will not commit to building the new centre until the Primary Care Trust (PCT) commit to renting the building, whilst the PCT will not commit until they know how much it will cost to build the centre and the rent they will be expected to pay. A District Valuer has supplied information to the PCT, but the Parish Council has not heard from them since.
Councillor Mike Williamson commented that "We can't sit round forever. The building is deteriorating, we need to make a decision." It was decided that a meeting with the PCT Chairman would be requested. No Plan B for the Festival Hall was discussed should talks with the PCT breakdown.
The Festival Hall is currently operating at 25-30% capacity in terms of the number of bookings and this financial year the target is to generate £35,000 from rental income. The Festival Hall is now licensed to hold civil wedding ceremonies, which will provide a new revenue stream with the first wedding ceremony having taken place there on Saturday.
Councillor Alan Jones reported that new boundary signs will be erected by the end of the month because the current ones are in a terrible state, at a cost of £4000, and Councillor Matthew Lloyd announced that the first Parish Council newsletter will be available next month, it has been delayed so annual reports can be included.
Other notable issues discussed were control of The Parade car park potentially being returned to Cheshire East Council, it is currently managed by Bluemantle, and the Alderley Edge Parish Plan which the Parish Council are expecting to be published at the end of this month/beginning of May. The Parish Council have provided £900 to finance the publishing of the Parish Plan, with £1500 coming from Cheshire East Council.
Comments
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My intention is certainly to attend all future Parish Council meetings and if I am not able to make a particular meeting then we will be sent the minutes which we will publish on alderleyedge.com.
http://bit.ly/aGKzFf
"A number of actions are being considered to limit the amount of through traffic using the A34 once the bypass is open, including the introduction of a weight limit to prevent heavy goods vehicles using London Road, reclassifying it as a B road, changing the timings of the traffic lights and adding more pedestrian crossings. The Parish Council are also keen to see Ryleys Lane changed to a B road."
If this is an accurate summary of what's being considered/proposed it misses the point completely.
The bypass presents a unique opportunity to address the hard landscaping (i.e. pavements, trees, seating, parking, roads) of the high street and to re-define the relationship between vehicular traffic and pedestrians (i.e. shoppers, residents, tourists etc.). This can only be done if certain key elements are addressed:
a). a coherent design/template (perhaps the result of a professionally-organised competition) for the post-bypass village landscape of the high street.
b). traffic management that prioritises pedestrians and local traffic over north-south vehicular traffic
c). budget; if there isn't budget currently allocated, money needs to be identified and/or ring-fenced
With reference to item b) above, the priority currently enjoyed by north-south traffic on the existing A34/London Road needs to be ended. The bypass will not in itself deliver the calmer, more pedestrian-friendly, village environment envisaged, unless the the appropriate traffic-calming measures are implemented simultaneously. Roundabouts should be introduced at both the Brook Lane and Macclesfield Road junctions with London Road. In the latter case, it may be necessary to look at closing off access to George Street (and possibly even Chapel Road) at their junctions with a proposed roundabout. A mini-roundabout at the junction of Heyes Lane with London Road may also be preferable to the existing junction. A blanket 20mph speed limit through the village should be implemented, extending to adjacent, narrow roads such as Trafford Road, the lower section of Macclesfield Road, Chorley Hall Lane etc.
If we no have more measures, we also need effective enforcement ... £30 fine does not deter many people in Alderley .... more towing away or maybe temporary driving bans...
The problem as Nicholas says is excessive through traffic and this needs to be tackled imaginatively. It would be wonderful to have London Road pedestrianised in the centre, making the village a delightful place to wander and sit in - but of course the possible impact on surrounding streets would need to be considered at the same time. At the very least we need traffic calming measures - and that means something more sophisticated than speed humps.
And thanks, Lisa, for your reports on the Parish Council, which has never been forthcoming with disseminating its deliberations. The time you put in on our behalf is much appreciated.
You may like to look at this example (from Poynton) of what can be achieved:
http://bit.ly/9AdeC5
However, I think we should be aiming higher in terms of the quality of streetscape we could achieve in Alderley Edge.