Alfriston High Street - Traffic consultation

Closed 24 Jun 2016

Opened 13 May 2016

Contact

01273 482500

Infrastructure.Delivery@eastsussex.gov.uk

Overview

We would like to hear your views on our proposals to address the on-going traffic issues in Alfriston High Street.

Traffic in Alfriston High Street

The narrow High Street in Alfriston is a bottleneck creating conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.

The Parish Council and local action groups have tried to develop potential solutions in the past, but have been unable to achieve a consensus about which option should be taken forward. 

East Sussex County Council has appointed traffic consultants to review the previous work and take forward potential solutions.

What options have been considered?

The following proposals have been considered

  • A one-way system (cannot be taken forward)
  • A shared space scheme (cannot be taken forward)
  • Traffic signals

 

Proposals for traffic signals

The traffic signal scheme would be similar to the signals at the bottleneck in Lewes High Street. As in Lewes, the speed limit through the centre of the village would be reduced to 20mph.

Advantages of traffic signals

  • Would prevent conflict between vehicles trying to pass one another in the narrow section of the High Street.
  • Would improve conditions for pedistrians as vehicles would no longer have to mount the footways to pass one another.
  • Reduce the likelihood of vehicles hitting buildings.
  • Would enable limited footway widening at various locations along the High Street.

Disadvantages of traffic signals

  • Visual impact of traffic signals and controller box equipment on the village.
  • Some journ time delays, although temporary traffic signal experiment undertaken in 2009 showed any queues cleared during the next green light phase.
  • On-street parking would be prohibited on the approaches to the signals.
  • There would need to be changes to traffic flow through Waterloo Square.

 

Proposed traffic signal locations

Traffic signalls would need to be introduced at the northern and southern end of the High Street.

The signals at the northern end of the High Street would be located just north of Star Lane.

At the southern end of the high street the signals would either have to be located at the junction of Weavers Lane (Option 1) or just to the north of Weavers Lane (Option 2).

Proposed Traffic Lights in the North of Alfriston

In Waterloo Square the traffic movements would need to be changed as follows:

  • Northbound vehicles would pass the west side of the memorial island.
  • Southbound vehicles would continue to use the east side of the island.
  • The north side of the square would remain two way.
  • A yellow 'keep clear' box would need to be introduced to prevent southbound vehicles queuing from the lights from blocking northbound traffic.

 

There are two options for the southern end of the street

Option 1 - Signals located at the junction of Weavers Lane

The main advantage of this option is that left turns out of Weavers Lane would still be permitted. In Option 2 the left turn would be banned.
 
The main disadvantage of this option is that it would mean longer waiting times for drivers, due to the increased distance between the northern and southern signals, when compared to Option 2.

Option 2 - Signals located north of Weavers Lane

The main advantage of this option is that it would mean shorter waiting times due to reduced distance between northern and southern signals, compared to Option 1

 

The main disadvantage of the option is that the left turn out of Weavers Lane would need to be banned due to the restricted visibility. In Option 1 this movement would still be possible.

Other options that were considered

One-way system

The one-way system would start at Star Lane, with all southbound traffic using the High Street. Northbound traffic would turn into Weavers Lane, right into Star Lane and then left onto the High Street.

Larger heavy goods vehicles travelling northbound would be unable to make the left turn from Star Lane onto the High Street and so would have to use a longer diversion route involving The Furlongs or The Broadway, North Road, and West Street with vehicles crossing the Dene Car Park to access North Street.

Wealden District Council own The Dene Car Park and are unable to support this proposal owing to concerns about the health and safety of car park users, the impact on local businesses and loss of spaces in the car park. 

As a result, the one-way proposal cannot be taken forward.

Shared space scheme

This would involve removing the segregation between vehicles and pedestrians with the introduction of a level surface across the street to create a shared space.

However, the restrictions on the width of the street mean that vehicles would still have difficulties passing one another, which would mean there would still be the risk of conflict between vehicles and pedestrians.

As a result, this proposal cannot be taken forward.

Exhibition of the proposals

Please visit the exhibition at:
The Old Chapel Centre
Friday 13 May: 2pm to 8pm
Saturday 14 May: 10 am to 4pm
 
Staff will be available to answer any questions you may have.
 

If you would like a copy of this survey in a different format such as large print, Braille or in a different language, please contact us:

Infrastructure.Delivery@eastsussex.gov.uk  or telephone 01273 482500.

If you prefer you can complete an online version of the survey at: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/haveyoursay

All responses received will be treated in the strictest confidence.

What happens next?

All the responses, comments and ideas will be analysed.

A report with recommendations for the next steps will be considered by the East Sussex County Council Lead Member for Transport and Environment in late summer 2016.

This report will be made available on our website.

Events

  • Exhibition: Alfriston High Street Traffic Consultation

    From 13 May 2016 at 14:00 to 13 May 2016 at 20:00

    The Old Chapel Centre on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th May

    Representatives from the County Council will be present to discuss the proposals

    Add to my Calendar (.ics)

  • Exhibition: Alfriston High Street Traffic Consultation

    From 14 May 2016 at 10:00 to 14 May 2016 at 16:00

    The Old Chapel Centre on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th May

    Representatives from the County Council will be present to discuss the proposals

    Add to my Calendar (.ics)

Areas

  • All Areas

Audiences

  • Anybody with an interest

Interests

  • Road safety