In the paper today there is a possibility that a relief road will be built from the bottom of Postern hill to the top of Granham Hill and this will take some of the traffic away from George lane ....then I spot that when this is built there will also be houses built around it as well as Super market .....now call me cynical but how long will it be before there are calls for a relief road to to take the pressure off of this relief road..!!!!!
If you build a relief road then don't put houses around it....it sort of defeats the object of the exercise otherwise
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I'm a Dyslexic Agnostic Insomniac...
I sit up all night wondering if there really is a Dog
A few weeks ago it was a new railway line and a supermarket and now a relief road from nowhere to nowhere. Did you notice that Crown have upped the area to be developed by 50% and not a word said against it by the town council! Is the future of the town really in the hands of these cretins?
When the new school was being proposed the issue of traffic on George Lane should have been identified and remedied then - but no, "let's have a new school at any cost" was the council's attitude. Now they are wetting themselves over a short bit of road which will solve little but will dump a load of houses on the town.
Does the town need an east/west bypass? If so why are they not demanding it also connect to the A4 near the hospital? Have they asked the ever-moaning traders if they want the traffic to bypass the High Street? Does anyone actually have a plan for this town or is it dictated by Crown Estates and their agent?
It was reported on the front page of the Gazette that the proposal was 'welcomed' by families living in George Lane.
Having lived in George Lane for eighteen years, I would like to place on record that the proposal is certainly not welcomed by this family. It seems to me that this is nothing short of blatant opportunistic profiteering on behalf of those involved, by selling land, building houses and then offering alleged community benefits to try to sell the concept. I was contacted prior to the publication of the story, by the Gazette, and made it very clear that I could not see any benefit for the residents of George Lane. What traffic would choose to take a detour up a hill, across through a new residential road and then back down a hill at the other end to rejoin their original route (approaching a two mile diversion), if they can continue to take the existing quarter of a mile or so direct route?
The challenge for our highways authority is how to effectively manage the traffic that uses George Lane, especially as all the schools in Marlborough will soon be located in the same general vicinity. This will necessitate pedestrian access for a significant number of children, aged from four to eighteen, crossing George Lane by zebra crossing (unlike the crossings for the college they have no traffic light controls) at the Ducks Meadow junction.
Currently we have the situation where lorries mount the pavements and cars travel far faster than the 30mph speed limit. Also the road is frequently subjected to flooding because of poor drainage. Unless there are additional safety measures introduced, these issues will never be resolved, and certainly a 'relief' road does nothing to help. It is perfectly feasible to introduce speed restricting measures such as a chicane at some point in the road as used in other towns very successfully, 20mph speed limits that are enforced (unlike the current 30mph limit!), bollards on the edge of the pavements to protect pedestrians and a proper resurfacing of the road (rather than yet another layer on top of the existing one which merely exacerbates the current flooding). To date the only proposal that I am aware of is to reduce the number of parking spaces in the road which only increases the opportunity to speed rather than discourage it! If they really want to gain support from this family and many others too, then perhaps they should also be exploring the introduction of a lorry ban for some of the roads in Marlborough, both North/South (didnt they build the A34 for them?) and East/West (isnt there the M4 or the A303?). Instead it seems they prefer to encourage them to come right into Marlborough by welcoming them to the overnight lorry park - where? - of course ..... George Lane!
