Keeping Bia . ckpool's
Page 35
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Traffic Moving
Over 5,000 Coaches, as well as Thousands of Cars, Motorcycles and Cycles, Sometimes Visit Blackpool in a Day and a Special System has been Devised to Control Traffic
rINLy 50 policemen are required to Is.-/ operate the scheme for controlling the heavy influx of ,traffic into Blackpool during the illuminations period each Autumn. On Saturday, September 27, this year, over 5,000 coaches, carrying more than 150,000 people, as well as thousands of private vehicles, converged on the town.
The Royal Lancashire Show and the Preston Guild were both in full swing when the lights were switched on on September 4. This, of course, added tofthe weight of traffic. However the sciftme was so elastic that only one or two extra 'foot constables were required at the additional junctions involved. They were, of course,edispersed to their normal duties when the shows closed.
When the scheme was originally evolved, the dominant feature was to keep the traffic moving as quickly as possible compatible with safety. It was notaintended that the traffic should be directed until the vehicles reached the promenade and the six miles of lights at Blackpool. Bottlenecks were to be removed and delays rapidly cleared.
It Was decided, accordingly, that a control should be set up at Hutton, the Lancashire Constabulary headquarters near Preston. A sub-control was established at Three Nooks, the junction of the Lytham road, A.584, and the Preston-Blackpool road, A.583. Radio points were sited at three strategic places on the road and •14 radio cars continually patrolled the 50 miles of road which were directly affected by the increase in traffic.
Approximately 35 foot constables arc employed at important junctions and zebra crossings to aid the smooth flow of traffic. Roadside cafes and filling stations receive attention in this direction. There are many of these whieh are open until midnight, and the car parks adjoining are large. If 20 coaches want to join a stream of traffic they require direction if chaos is to he avoided, Facilities are available to help those who break down: the sooner the vehicle can be sent on its way 4he quicker the traffic can resume its normal flow. Within minutes of the stoppage police are on the scene with signs and lights to give warning to oncoming traffic. If there be an accident, one of three special squads, fully equipped to cope with any emergency. is readily available. The whole organization, with the exception of the constables on point duty, is in direct radio communication with headquarters.
Traffic heading for Blackpool must, in the main, pass through Preston, that from the north and south coming along A6. Traffic from North Wales and Liverpool, together with that from Yorkshire, comes along A59, and that from mid-Cheshire, Birmingham, and the south-west along A49. The density of this traffic is the subject of constant reports from the road patrols to Hutton, or to the sub-control at Three Nooks. These reports tell the staff whether the traffic is light or heavy relative to normal conditions. From control, orders are given to divert personnel to ease any congestion which may occur if the traffic reaches exceptional proportions. Otherwise attention is concentrated on facilitating the smooth flow of vehicles.
Changing Hans
As the traffic proceeds along A583 to Blackpool it comes to the Three Nooks junction, and here the police have erected temporary manually controlled traffic signals. The greater proportion of the traffic turns left at the fork and goes along A584 to Lytham, where it is passed out of the hands of the Lancashire Constabulary to the Blackpool Borough Police, who, using six cars and approximately 30 special constables, marshal the vehicles into their respective queues before they proceed along the promenade. That traffic which goes straight along A583 into Blackpool is routed into special parks and through the back streets to the south of the town.
At week-ends, when the traffic is extremely heavy, vehicles arrive all through the day. These are directed to Squires Gate Lane, where they are 'formed into a single line as far as the Half Way House. Two lines are formed in Clifton Drive North, and when this is full the side streets off St. Annes road, are used as temporary parking places. This build-up assumes major proportions late in the afternoon.
When the Lights Co On
As soon as the lights are switched on. the procession of vehicles begins, and when the queues have dispersed those vehicles in the side streets and car parks filter into the queues. After a while, the waiting vehicles are all clear and those just entering the town are routed straight along the promenade. At the end the traffic is directed hack on to the Preston New Road, A583, via Devonshire Drive.
The traffic starts returning approximately one hour after the lights are switched off and the early departures are chiefly private vehicles. The peak is reached at approximately 11 p.m. when the coaches are driving nose to tail at a steady 25-30 m.p.h. along the road; by 1 a.m., however, everything is quiet again. During the week the traffic is not so dense and visitors are at liberty to drive either way along the promenade. During the 1951 illuminations season, it was estimated that 48,000 coaches and 90,000 private cars and other vehicles, plus 15,000 service buses, brought Urn. people into Blackpool. The town last week welcomed 400 members and guests to the Road Haulage Association's annual conference and the lights vied in gaiety with the three evening social events.