Weekend sightseers

Can anyone explain why each weekend the village is gridlocked with traffic? Is this some malevolent wheeze of Cheshire’s road planning authority to prove to us all just how much we need the relief of the bypass that is scheduled to cause another two years of inconvenience or is it simply that, within divine scheme of things that prevails in our local planning department, nobody actually plans anything. Much as each occupant of every car that trails sedately through must enjoy becoming better acquainted with Alderley and the delights it has to offer, can someone, somewhere, give us all a break.

I was speaking with a village trader during the week about the traffic. He told me that his business was down 30% last Saturday and he certainly felt that the fact London Road was gridlocked with traffic all day was to blame. He also thought the roadworks were returning this weekend.

I also find it hard to accept that London Road is lined with parked cars at 9am on a Sunday morning. Who are all these people?

One major factor of the attraction of this village to ‘sightseers’ is the totally distorted picture painted by the press, both national and local. of AE.  Any account invariably is laced with phrases ’ Millionaires homes down every lane ‘, ‘Champagne capital of the UK ‘, ‘Celebrities gathered…....etc., ’  not to mention at least two national network TV programmes portraying numbers of the inhabitants as wealthy retards. 
I have written before that these distorted accounts must alert every villain within a radius of 100 miles to come here and try his luck, as well as the misguided shopkeepers who open up here selling expensive rubbish under the impression that London Road is a sort of north west Rodeo Drive..
We should have a sign just outside the village proclaiming ; Welcome to Alderley Edge. Home of Ordinary Normal Hardworking Family Folk   and then the disappointed sightseers would   carry straight on down the by-pass extension and clutter up Congleton instead.

Barry Posner
(40 years resident)

If you are all unhappy now, just imagine if Dobbies does go ahead.  Whilst ‘these people’ may use the new bypass to fuel their ‘must shop/must have’ tendencies, when suitably satieted, they too will no doubt pop down Congleton Road to visit you all - oh, dear lots more people and some all the way from central Manchester and its environs…....now there’s a thought.

In reply to Stewart Dyer who queries the cars parked along London Road early on Sunday mornings.  A sizeable proportion are probably drivers too drunk to drive home on Saturday night. 
Barry Posner

I think Susan Holland means ‘satiated’ - she is obviously originally from Manchester.

The answer the Alderley Edge traffic congestion is so simple….if you want free flowing traffic you have to reduce the number of traffic lights and the way they operate.

The biggest cause of the problem is the proximity of pelican crossings in the village and the way they’re set up to prioritise pedestrians over vehicles.

In other towns and cities around the world they use the ‘walk/don’t walk’ system on pedestrian crossings and it works to improve traffic flow and safety.

Ask yourself this: Was there this much congestion when we had zebra crossings in the village…...... before the campaigner and traffic planners got involved ?

Best way to ease congestion is for us ALL to scrap our cars, actually.