Agenda item

Councillor Wallace Redford stated that any member of the public had the right to object to consultation process or recommendations that the council/a councillor planned to make. The purpose of this meeting was to decide whether the planned decision needed to be changed or rejected and there would be no decision made in this meeting.

Mr Carl Conn was grateful for the information being made available, and he objected to this order based on two things: ‘that the County Council were failing at actioning their climate change emergency declaration from 2019 as they were prioritising car transport and not making enough cycling provisions. It was also not addressing the obesity epidemic, the issue of poorer people wanting to cycle as they could not afford cars or the fact that cycling was not safe. The order did not acknowledge the 3000 houses that were being developed at the time of the meeting which will mean an extra 4000 car journeys on the road. There was land on the plan that had been reserved for further development which could mean an extra 5000 houses and 5-7000 extra car journeys. The plan did not address the ‘pinch point’ over the bridge (which is the responsibility of the Canal Trust) which was dangerous without the extra houses. The order also did not include a cycle plan for the school and students who may plan to cycle on this road which lead to the A46, M40 and railway station due to the speed cars go on it. Roads need to be prioritised for pedestrians and cyclists with a separate cycleway, more people were likely to cycle due to increased petrol and gas prices. The council’s plans were short term and needed to be developed for the distant future. It was the council’s responsibility to make roads safe for all cyclists in Stratford’. 

In response to Mike McDonnell (Senior Engineer), Carl Conn stated that they knew there would be 3000 houses on the one spot of land as well as all the land going towards Wilmcote.

Mike McDonnell was aware of developments south of the A422 which were all decisions made by Stratford District Council; this plan was to accommodate the 500 houses being developed between Bishopston Lane and the A46 which was currently a 40mph road. There were also a number of crossing points between Bishopston and Stratford; to mitigate this flow five uncontrolled crossing points and two pelican crossings either side of the traffic island were planned. The order also proposed a 30mph speed limit reduction from the current 40mph so it would be safer to cross. Speed data on Bishopston lane was obtained and shared with the police and this showed that the average speed limit on this road was 35mph and on the Ridgeway it was 38-39mph. Ladder markings were proposed to go in the road to reduce the road space to 2.4m each direction to make vehicles travel slower.

Carl Conn stated that pinch points bring cars and cyclists closer together and the highway code was 1.5m distance between cars and cyclists. Cyclists i.e. children who do not cycle straight would be hit by cars and cars always move towards the pavement at pelican crossings and could hit a cyclist.

In response to Carl Conn, Mike McDonnell stated that segregated cycle lanes were beyond the remit of this scheme.

Councillor Redford noted that there was a climate emergency agenda, but it was not part of the remit that Mike McDonnell had to work to. There was a climate emergency policy implemented that the highways team worked to as well as a cycling infrastructure plan which linked to the national one. There were cycling plans in place which take time to be implemented and other plans did include cycling provisions but this proposal did not.

Carl Conn said that other Stratford residents he spoke to said it was too dangerous to cycle on Bishopston road.

Mike McDonnell contacted that transport planning team and they stated that cycling will be used to create a modal shift and cycling schemes will run alongside road schemes. He reiterated that scheme was to reduce the speed limit on the road to 30mph and not about cycling; cycling schemes would be part of a different plan.

Carl Conn said that people want safe cycling schemes now. He expressed concerns about the pinch point on the bridge and that the traffic lights were not adhered to. 

Mike McDonnell stated that they could not build another bridge for cyclists and pedestrians as it was not county council land and bridge construction was a lot more than this scheme was asking for and covered. Transport planners look at the whole area where a scheme is proposed and cost everything together and make sure all the schemes link up. There had been no accidents on the Ridgeway for five years but there had been two collisions at the Glebe Road junction.

A discussion followed about which direction commuters would go to get to specific locations.

Mike McDonnell stated that the planning teams asked him to look at a cycle/pedestrian path from the Stratford park & ride via the canal into the town centre. Carl Conn noted that thousands of workers commuted on Timothy Bridge Road and children going to and from Stratford school would also use this road. 

Councillor Redford noted the issues raised and decided to get further information and clarity before deciding. He informed Carl Conn that he would receive a formal written response when he had made his decision.

Councillor Redford noted that there was a climate emergency agenda, but it was not part of the remit that Mike McDonnell had to work to. There was a climate emergency policy implemented that the highways team worked to as well as a cycling infrastructure plan which linked to the national one. There were cycling plans in place which take time to be implemented and other plans did include cycling provisions but this one did not.

Carl Conn said that other Stratford residents he spoke to said it was too dangerous to cycle on Bishopston road.

Mike McDonnell contacted that transport planning team and they stated that cycling will be used to create a modal shift and cycling schemes will run alongside road schemes. He reiterated that scheme was to reduce the speed limit on the road to 30mph and not about cycling; cycling schemes would be part of a different plan.

Carl Conn said that people want safe cycling schemes now. He expressed concerns about the pinch point on the bridge and that the traffic lights were not adhered to. 

Mike McDonnell stated that they could not build another bridge for cyclists and pedestrians as it was not county council land and bridge construction was a lot more then this scheme was asking for and covered. Transport planers look at the whole area where a scheme is proposed and cost everything together and make sure all the schemes link up. There had been no accidents on the Ridgeway bridge for five years but there had been two collisions at the Glebe Road junction.

A discussion followed about which direction commuters would go to get to specific locations.

Mike McDonnell stated that the planning teams asked him to look at a cycle/pedestrian path from the Stratford park & ride via the canal into the town centre. Carl Conn noted that thousands of workers commuted on Timothy Bridge Road and children going to and from Stratford school would also use this road. 

Councillor Redford noted the issues raised and decided to get further information and clarity before making a decision. He informed Carl Conn that he would receive a formal written response when he had made his decision.