LONDON ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING (STAGE 1) REPORT

Following an all-agency meeting at the beginning of July, I am now pleased to be able to share the results of the Stage 1 Feasibility Report with residents. The report follows a traffic assessment I asked to be undertaken in 2019, following concerns from residents about high-performance cars and the manner in which some of these vehicles are being driven.

Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) were positioned at three locations on London Road, each for a seven-day period, with the results showing 85th percentile speeds of 25mph outside the former RBS and 23mph at the pelican crossing near the junction with Stevens Street, but 34mph at the third data collection point (by the de Trafford Arms). 37.2% of vehicles were exceeding 30mph at this location.

The report recommends that a 20mph zone should be implemented using signage to both sides of London Road, in addition to painted carriageway treatments to further highlight the start and exit points of the 20mph zone. The diversity of road users through the village (cyclists, emergency vehicles, buses etc) complicates the installation of physical speed control measures.

Speed humps or carriageway narrowing measures were not considered to be practical options; however, the report does recommend that consideration should be given to the introduction of other physical infrastructure such as speed cushions. The report proposes that the limits of the 20mph zone should be from the junction with Ryleys Lane to the junction with Macclesfield Road.

At the all-agency meeting (attended by Cheshire East Highways, Cheshire East Council Anti-Social Behaviour Team, Cheshire Police & Alderley Edge Parish Council) there was broad support for the proposals, but with a modification that the zone should be extended at each end of the village to include Alderley Edge School for Girls and the junction with Beechfield Road (Congleton Road).

A Stage 2 report will now be produced showing detailed design options, which will then be subject to a round of public consultation. This next stage in the process is estimated to take between three to six months. I would like to thank all the agencies for supporting me to make progress with this issue; in the meantime Cheshire Police will continue to monitor driver behaviour in the area.

TRAVELLER ENCAMPMENT UPDATE

On Sunday evening at around 6.30pm I witnessed a group of travellers gaining entry to Alderley Edge Park from Ryleys Lane Car Park. Entry was gained by the travellers tying a tow rope around two of the bollards at the entrance to the park and attaching the other end of the rope to a transit van, which was then placed in reverse and used to haul the bollards from the ground.

Today, welfare assessments have been carried out by Cheshire West & Chester Gypsy & Traveller Team (this is a shared service between Cheshire West & Chester Council and Cheshire East Council). Following this, along with Parish Cllr Mike Dudley-Jones, I have been to speak to the some of the "elders" of the group with a view to achieving a negotiated departure date.

We have agreed to provide two portable toilets which will be placed in the park near to the bandstand, this in the interests of public health and to try and minimise the amount of human waste that is left behind when the travellers move on. We have also agreed to provide bin liners and a small skip, in order to try and contain litter and reduce the scale of the ultimate clean-up operation.

Once the travellers have moved on, we will of course review security arrangements around the entrances to the park; however, it is important to recognise that it is impossible to provide complete protection or to guarantee that ingress will not occur again in future. In the meantime, Cheshire East Council will continue its efforts, through the planning process, to identify a dedicated gypsy & traveller transit site for the borough.

Dedicated transit sites provides the police with additional powers to move encampments on quickly. Officers from Cheshire Police are continuing to monitor the situation.

MOSS ROAD TO CLOSE FOR CARRIAGEWAY REPAIRS

I would like to take this opportunity to remind residents that Moss Road will be closed next week (Monday 22nd June to Friday 26th June)* for Level 2 patching work. Over recent years, Cheshire East Council has received in the region of £12m per year from central government towards highways maintenance, of which roughly £3m has been spent on road repairs. Road repairs fall into three categories: Category 1 (pothole filling), Category 2 (carriageway patching) and Category 3 (full resurfacing). 

This year, cabinet has taken the decision to invest an additional £5m (more than doubling the level of investment) of which £4m will be invested in carriageway patching and £1m in full resurfacing. In Alderley Edge, this means that work on Moss Road will be taking place next week and Trafford Road (upper section) will also benefit from Level 2 patching later in the year. Recently, the pelican crossings on London Road have also been upgraded and this work has been funded from the wider annual budget for highways maintenance. 

* residents of Moss Road will continue to have vehicular access their properties

SUPER CARS - PUBLIC NUISANCE

Many residents have either written to me or contacted me via social media over the course of the weekend to ask what is being done to address the issue of so called "super cars" in our village. The issue has been growing over several years, but after a brief respite at the beginning of the Covid-19 lock down, it seems that both
the cars and accompanying photographers are back in
greater numbers.

In 2019 I had already asked Cheshire East Highways what might be done in terms of installing traffic calming on London Road. The first stage in any process where traffic calming is being considered, is for a traffic assessment to
be undertaken and this took place last November at three
locations: outside the former RBS, by the crossing adjacent to the newsagents and by the De Trafford Arms.

The results of the traffic assessment show that at the first two locations, 85% of drivers are travelling at or below 26mph; however, outside the De Trafford Arms they are travelling at or below 34mph. I am advised by Cheshire East Highways that the statistics do support the introduction of a new 20mph speed limit and officers are now considering appropriate traffic calming measures to enforce this.

In the meantime, I have been in discussion with senior officers from Cheshire Police and have asked for a more visible presence at weekends (when most of the problems seem to occur). I have also asked officers from Cheshire East Council to give consideration to introducing a Public Space Protection Order in the village centre, which would make revving engines etc an offence.

Public Space Protection Orders will only be introduced by the Council where there is confirmation from Cheshire Police that such action is necessary. I have therefore called a meeting of all the relevant parties, including the Chair of Alderley Edge Parish Council, to determine the most appropriate way ahead. Any proposed action will be subject to full public consultation.

NEW NOTICEBOARD - WELCOME TO ALDERLEY EDGE PARK

Alderley Edge Parish Council has recently placed an order for a new noticeboard at the village park. This is to replace the existing noticeboard adjacent to the children's play area, which has been in situ for many years. Much of the wooden surround is in an advanced stage of decay and members of the Parish Council felt that it was time for a facelift.

The new noticeboard is being supplied by the Parish Noticeboard Company and will be of a similar design as the noticeboard that was installed on The Parade (outside Waitrose) in 2017. The only difference will be that the new noticeboard will have two panels rather than three and will display the words "Welcome to Alderley Edge Park" at the top.

The new noticeboard is being introduced as part of a package of improvements to the park, which were consulted on at the beginning of this year. The noticeboard will carry information about the park, as well as local events and anyone wishing to display a flyer will be able to do so by contacting the Parish Clerk (clerk@alderleyedge-pc.gov.uk) or calling in at the Festival Hall.

LONDON ROAD - PARTIAL CLOSURE FRIDAY 22ND MAY - UPDATED

I would like to advise all residents and businesses that a partial closure of London Road is planned for Friday 22nd May. The closure, which will apply to the section from the junction with Heyes Lane to the junction with Clifton Street is expected to take place between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

The closure is to enable the removal and upgrade of the pelican crossing on London Road, at the top of the steps from Waitrose Car Park and will involve relaying cables under the road bed, replacement of the signal controller and installation of new lighting and columns.

The work is being carried out by Cheshire East Highways as part of their annual road maintenance programme. It is likely that the footpath adjacent to the car park steps will also be closed at this time. Please take extra care if you are in the area and follow any diversions that are in operation.

UPDATE - I have now been advised that the crossing towards the other end of London Road (near Martin's newsagents) will also be upgraded and that this work will take place on Monday 18th May. All work to this crossing will be carried out from the footpath and the road will remain open.