Traffic: What readers had to say...

Up until then, there was a two-way traffic system through the town, and the one-way system was introduced as a temporary' measure until the extension of the M6 and the construction of the western bypass would result in such a reduction in traffic through the town that it would then be possible to re-introduce the two-way system!

No one would have envisaged at the time the vast increase in the volume of traffic that we see now, but it is noticeable that much of the traffic which could use the western bypass appears to be still coming through the centre of the town.

If prominent signing could be introduced south of Kendal, telling traffic which does not need to come into the town to use the bypass, I feel sure this would be a major contribution to easing the traffic problem in the town.

Raymond Jopson

Low Biggins

Kirkby Lonsdale

n SIR, Concerning your request for views on the traffic system which has now been in operation for 12 months, I personally regard it as a great success. Although I have never lived in Kendal, I have been commuting to the town daily for over 30 years. Whereas I do not need to use much of the new road layout regularly, approaching as I do from the East (A684) rather than the South, I do occasionally find it necessary to travel from the South to North of town during the middle of the day.

Whereas, prior to April 2002, I would have always travelled up Parkside Road and through Sandylands Road to arrive on Shap Road, I now have no hesitation in driving straight through town, down Lowther Street and onto Blackhall Road. This inevitably saves me time, and makes much more sense than crawling along nose-to-tail through Stricklandgate.

It is also of great benefit for those of us travelling from the East (and indeed North) of Kendal to the Lakes to be able to drive along Sandes Avenue and straight up Windermere Road, rather than having to take the pointless journey along Aynam Road and back through the centre of town, as was previously the case.

The other major benefit I find, as one who walks through town each lunchtime, is the ease of which pedestrians can cross the road so easily and safely, amongst the invariably stationary traffic queuing along Stricklandgate, no doubt wishing they had turned down Lowther Street, as in most cases they ought!

One aspect which baffles me, however, is just what is happening to the junction in front of the County Hotel!

I approach this each day from Ann Street. Some days it appears to be taking the shape of a roundabout, other times a crossroads, and earlier today it was a free-for-all! With no road markings to guide traffic flow, vehicles were approaching the obstacle from three directions, not knowing who had priority, let alone which way to turn! Perhaps one day we will be enlightened !

Colin Cowperthwaite

Sedbergh

n SIR, The build-up of traffic in the town seems to have been moved around from one area to another which is not really solving the problems. Surely the priority for Kendal is to ensure the continuity of a prosperous, bustling market town with growth and industry at the perimeter.

In order to succeed, provision must be made for heavy goods vehicles to bypass the town centre to gain access to the A6 north of the town and beyond, and adequate parking facilities for town centre visitors and the people who work there.

A northern link road from the Plumgarths roundabout to the A6 would solve this. Originally a route was identified which linked this plan to the existing Kendal bypass. This involved crossing some of the land which is now a golf course a fact which was known when the course was built.

As a resident living in Hollins Lane, Burneside, which is continually used as a short cut by traffic passing through Burneside en route to the A6, I have had to maintain damaged garden walls quite regularly at some cost.

I would hope that taxpayers' money is not being spent on schemes in the town centre which, in the long run, will not solve Kendal's traffic problems.

Zoe Scott

Burneside

n SIR, The new traffic system has been an expensive disaster. The price has been paid not only by ratepayers, but by local traders who have seen their business drop as shoppers move their purchases to more accessible locations. There appears to be no net benefit to the population of South Lakeland. The public bodies responsible for this mess are in denial about the mayhem they have created - to own up to causing this problem would be too politically damaging for them. Rather, they will now pursue an equally ruinous policy of loading/unloading restrictions in a vain attempt to make a flawed system work. This will inflict even further damage on the hard pressed retail sector whose voices have been ignored throughout.

At the inception of the scheme, our local MP suggested that if the scheme proves unworkable, Cumbria County Council should have the courage and honesty to reverse the changes. We should now insist that they do this.

Howard Turner

Partner - Prontaprint Kendal

n SIR, As a teacher I'm constantly telling my students It's no good simply making statements which sound good. You must back them with hard evidence which proves they are worth listening to.

What should I tell them about the proposal to build a supposed relief road through Burneside which actually provides evidence that the scheme WON'T work?! How do I justify shortages in education funding when we as a community are proposing to spend in excess of £10 million to build a road over greenfield land, splitting Burneside in two - and for what purpose? To reduce traffic flow in Kendal by less than three per cent It simply doesn't add up.

If we do want to reduce HGV flow in Kendal by stopping deliveries at peak times, surely a cheaper and more effective solution would be to create a dropping-off point close to the motorway where lorry drivers could leave their goods. All it would need is one enterprising local businessman with one not particularly large warehouse who would then move these goods into Kendal at traffic off-peak times. Lorry drivers would be happy, driving in Kendal would be more than three per cent easier, and the residents of Burneside would still have their village.

Will Garnett

Kendal

n SIR, The leaf-cutting ant with its tiny brain solved the problem of supply and demand by using a system of two-way traffic and leaving signals to following ants about obstructions en route.

Our road planners, with their superior intelligence, designed a system that is bound to cause gridlock when overstretched. Reversing the flow of traffic in Lowther Street, without giving an alternative route, caused it to be a one-way street. They forgot about disabled people who need transport to reach the shopping centre. All bridges are bottlenecks and should take two-way traffic. Traffic lights only slow down traffic movements and should be removed. Pelican crossings replaced by bridges with wheelchair access.

Pedestrianisation does not work for disabled people. My wife has not been to town since the scheme was devised and I have to drive her to visit her GP.

Mr W.B. Hannon

Kendal

n AS AN "off-comer" (I am a Yorkshireman, despite my name), may I be permitted to comment on one aspect of Kendal's traffic system changes? Capitadbs, the company which carries out the alterations and is paid by Cumbria County Council, is the organisation which advises the council and the councillors on the pros and cons of the scheme. Councillors must base their decisions on totally independent reports rather than the opinions of interested parties if Kendal is to achieve its full potential and become once again the prosperous market town it once was.

Bart Lechien

Kendal

n SIR, The new traffic system is a disaster both from the point of view of the drivers and the shopkeepers. Kendal is now becoming a dead' town because people are stressed out by the awful traffic chaos and are finding that it is much easier to go elsewhere. Whoever conceived the new system had either no proper knowledge of conditions in the town or of sensible traffic regulation. Poor Kendal - Lucky Lancaster!

T.A.Liddle

Milnthorpe

n SIR, Morning peaktime traffic at the junction of Burneside Road/Windermere Road. When lights turn green only one or two cars can proceed due to traffic stopping on Windermere Road. This causes a tailback of cars on Burneside Road. More cars than ever are cutting through Busher Walk to avoid this, resulting in a queue of cars restricting access to emergency vehicles on this road. This problem is getting worse each week.

Janice Attwell

Kendal

n SIR, The new system so far appears to have been a disaster and its extension will probably be even worse. In our opinion, we had enough pedestrianisation with Market Place and Finkle Street and a ban on heavy goods vehicles in the town centre, together with a realistic restriction on loading and unloading and the parking facilities afforded to disabled peoples cars, would have been sufficient change required.

William Hanes

Via email

n SIR, Have the County Council and the engineering team responsible for the chaos in Kendal, got shares in the firm who supplies the traffic lights for the new system? Why could we not have roundabouts instead, then traffic would flow instead of waiting for the lights. Councillors should remember also that cars bring both people and money into the town, not buses.

Mike Hill

Burneside

n SIR, We live in Windermere, and find the new traffic system has saved us much fuel, time and frustration. It also makes crossing the main street easier. We definitely approve.

Jim & Judy Andrews

Windermere

n SIR, Your commuting correspondent's honesty was very welcome (Letters & Opinions, May 2). He/she admits that if he sees a parking space in the Fellside-Greenside area, he believes he's entitled to hog it all day, at the expense of residents and brief visitors alike.

This unsustainable practise had to be curbed and as a result we must all endure controls residents with limited permits, their friends and family who can't get passes, visitors to town restricted to an hour, and those living in the historic yards who now have nowhere to park at all.

It's a familiar pattern; one section of the community abuses the system, then complains and diverts the blame when stopped. Note that your correspondent blames others for his relative's predicament in the historic yards, when in fact he was the cause. He offers in return the space outside his Staveley home, apparently missing the obvious flaw: if he doesn't want to park there, why should anyone else? He also questions the lack of garages and driveways in this Kendal area, most of which was built in Victorian times or earlier. Perhaps he will direct blame at the builders next for lacking the foresight to accommodate the car.

Kendal's old streets offer limited parking for residents and short-term visitors. They are not a free long-stay car park for commuters. At least not any more.

Mrs Johnson

Kendal

May 9, 2003 13:30