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Coach boss fears more road chaos
30/ 5/2006
A COACH firm owner is predicting chaos on Edinburgh Way and in Sudden if roundabout modification plans go ahead.
Malcolm Bywater said he drives through Sudden at least six times a day and replacing the roundabouts with traffic lights would create more traffic problems and cause more delays.
Plans are in place for a £1.6M improvement scheme which would also fill in the subway, create crossing points and relocate bus stops.
Mr Bywater, also a warden at St Aidan's Church, said he has proposed alternatives to the scheme, which include keeping both roundabouts, creating slip roads for traffic on the Edinburgh Way roundabout turning left and creating a bus lane on Bolton Road heading into Rochdale.
Mr Bywater, who lived in Rochdale for most of his life before moving to Heywood, said: "Traffic lights cause problems rather than roundabouts and everyone I have spoken to is opposing the plans.
"Installing lights will mean traffic coming to a halt.
"You already have to wait one minute at Sandbrook Park junction, but the new ones planned for Edinburgh Way will be longer.
"During the evenings you can pass over the roundabouts without a problem but installing traffic lights means cars will be stopped constantly no matter what time of day it is.
"Planners showed local residents how the scheme would work on a computer system but the computer doesn't work, as we have seen with plans in Smithy Bridge.
"We haven't been told how many replies there have been to the consultation or what they want to do.
"I've written to the council and Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive asking for the results of the consultation."
Andrew Jackman, network development manager, said planners had looked at a number of traffic options for the roundabouts but they did not work.
He said the current plans were the best way to improve long-term capacity, reduce accidents and improve pedestrian facilities.
He said: "We are just finishing evaluating responses to the plans.
"We will be responding to people in an article which will go in the council's Local Matters magazine to say what happens next.
"We've had 81 different questions raised, mostly about the detail and only a small number of people were totally against the scheme."
Mr Jackman said the submitted planning application to start work on the scheme would be decided at July's Rochdale Township planning sub committee. He said: "The roundabouts are one of the major accident blackspots in the town. We have to look at the Sandbrook Park traffic light development which saw an 80 per cent reduction in accidents since its conversion."
Most recent 2 of 2 user comments
That roundabout is a mess and needs sorting out. I do have reservations that it won't be done properly though - Rochdale has an astonishing track record for stupid schemes.
31/05/2006 at 11:01
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I have to admit that I can??<sup>TM</sup>t see how the Sudden problem will ever be alleviated without a major reconstruction project. What is inevitable is that installing lights always results in queues; hopefully the queues will be smaller, but (being an eternal pessimist) I doubt it.
31/05/2006 at 16:20