South Coast lorry route, and park plans
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
East Sussex 'designates' roads; Southampton, Portsmouth lorry parks on the way
5y CM reporter In some haste, East Sussex County 2ouncil has revealed a route control scheme Or heavy lorries which starts next month as t one-year experiment; almost simultineously, a working party in Hampshire las published long-term plans for trategic and local lorry parks in the ■ outhampton and Portsmouth areas, inluding one with "immediate priority" for 80 lorries at Nursling.
Sussex plan needs )perators' co-operation
'o avoid a costly scheme involving many nsightly signs, especially detrimental in ountry areas, East Sussex County Council's arveyor, Mr Michael Leney, has opted for simple advisory scheme in which the !ounty's roads have been divided into three ategories; the network is shown on the map elow. Category 1 comprises roads on rhich no restriction is placed for heavy oods vehicles; it includes all A roads and me B roads and is claimed to give "a etwork of largely unrestricted routes for a Jod distribution of movement throughout ie county and which cater for all through mtes and town-to-town movements".
Roads in Category 2 will not — at present — be prohibited but are intended only for access and not for through traffic. Roads in Category 3 are those which are already signposted as unsuitable for large vehicles — though in many cases there are exceptions for access.
Says the County Council's statement on the scheme: "It is unfortunate that historic towns and places on main roads cannot be helped by this scheme. They must depend upon major construction works and the allocation of special funds."
It is not only historic towns which suffer from the lack of better roads. For example, a B road has inevitably had to be shown on the Sussex lorry plan as the unrestricted route to and from the growing port of Newhaven: the almost parallel A road is inaccessible to heavy ferry traffic because of a restricted swing-bridge.
Claiming that the scheme is the first of its kind in Britain, the County Council emphasizes that it is aimed at operators and drivers of vehicles over 3 tons ( presumably unladen weight, though not stated) and that it will depend for its success on the cooperation of hauliers and driwrs.
Introducing the scheme, Mr Leney said it had been discussed with "our friends in the road haulage industry" who had promised support; and he warned that if the scheme failed he could only foresee stricter rules, more legal restrictions and more roads legally closed to the haulier.
But when CM sought the views of the Road Haulage Association this week, we were told that London hq had not been informed about the scheme, while representatives from the Metropolitan and South Eastern area had only attended a preliminary meeting in August, with no firm proposals, and so could hardly be said to have promised support. However, the area secretary, Mr George Harris told CM on Monday that since the scheme was experimental, and providing that the ESCC was prepared to listen to representations in a month or two, the Association had no quarrel with the proposals in general.
The Freight Transport Association said this seek it had no objection to the scheme in principle and would ask members to co-operate.
Leaflets describing the scheme are being
sent out after Christmas, together with maps showing the advisory routes, to transport operators in the county, while French and Spanish versions will be distributed at local ports. The English version will be available on demand to operators or drivers, from the police, local council offices and the County Council at St Andrews Lane, Lewes.
The adjoining County Council to the East, Kent CC, told CM on Monday that it was preparing a similar scheme, "but with more force behind it." The implementation date is not known.
Five-point plan for Soton parking
Coinciding with the Sussex lorry routes announcement, but entirely separate from that scheme, is the working party report on lorry parking in Southampton, Portsmouth and area.
The principal operator associations, the DoE. Southampton and Portsmouth city councils and Hampshire County Council were represented on the working party, which recommends that local authorities in the area (extending from Havant to Totton) should take steps to deter lorry parking on the streets and to minimize the intrusion by lorries into residential areas. It suggests five main ways in which these objectives can be achieved:— (a) A review of parking policies in each local authority's area to take account of lorry parking need, and preparation 'of planning guide lines appropriate to the area to meet these needs.
(b) Traffic regulation and control to deter on-street parking of lorries.
(c) The encouragement of lorry operators to provide adequate facilities for overnight parking, either individually or collectively.
(d) The discouragement of lorry operators from permitting drivers to take home lorries for overnight parking on residential streets.
(e) The provision of lorry parks.
Two types Recognizing that "strategic" parks for long-distance vehicles and drivers away from base deed to have quite different characteristics from parks for the overnight standing of local vehicles, the report suggests that: 1) A strategic lorry park should be established in the Portsmouth area, at Tipner, for 150 lorries. A draft local plan for Tipner has been accepted for discussion by Portsmouth City Council, and the site is both close to the proposed urban motorway and in an industrial/commercial area.
2) Two strategic lorry parks should be established in the Southampton area, the first (of inunecliate priority) at Nursling for 300 lorries and the second, to be built within 10 years, for 200 lorries on a site near the proposed Stoneham interchange. The Nursling park could be operational by 1975 when the new Nursling link is open; an adjacent area has already been proposed for container handling operations.
3) Local lorry parks should be established in each local authority's area within the next five years. It suggests that Portsmouth has a need for six local lorry parks, each for between 15 and 20 lorries, Gosport needs parking for 30 lorries, Fareham for 30 lorries and Havant for 50 lorries, in the Leigh Park area.
The report suggests sites at Paulsgrove, Southsea, Mile End, Cosham, North End and Fratton.
In the Southampton area it is considered that there should be local parking within five years for 30 lorries at Totton, 50 at Eastleigh and 20 in the Hamble/Botley district.
Eastleigh will shortly have an overnight lorry park on the car park in Market Street. Other lorry parks close to areas of established demand will be needed at: Chapel (for 80 lorries), West Quay Road (where there i an existing park), Briton Street (again, a existing park), Six Dials, Shirley, Coxforc Millbrook, Woolston and Weston.
The report stresses that the charges fc these local parks, levied by the loci authority, must be balanced between ot taming sufficient finance to provide an operate them, and the need to attrac operators to use them.
It also suggests that lorry parks providin basic security but relatively few othc facilities may be commercially attractivi through removing the operator's need fc constant supervision of vehicles and loads.
The working party has thus opted for ant work of local lorry parks throughout the area, and suggests that these should be sited close to areas of established demand, close to large housing estates, within easy access of primary roads, within reasonable access of public transport and, wherever possible. where maximum use of the land is possible — eg through combining daytime car parking with overnight lorry parking. Another important point is that the siting should have the least possible adverse effect on the local residential environment.
A map on this page, based on the report, ;tows the principal recommended sites. Copies of the report, price £1, may be )btained from the town clerk, city engineer )r city planning office of Southampton City Council, from the city development )ffice of Portsmouth CC or from the .71ampshire CC county planning department it Winchester.