Plans to end Mirehouse's ‘nightmare’ traffic issues
Last updated at 11:25, Thursday, 27 September 2012
PLANS to tackle “nightmare” traffic problems on a Whitehaven estate look set to be given the go-ahead.
A section of road along Tomlin Avenue, in Mirehouse, is set to be widened to create better parking and make it safer for motorists and residents to use.
It follows a long-standing traffic problem which residents say has got “progressively worse” over the years. They say motorists zig zag in and out of parked cars which has resulted in several “near misses”.
Plans will be discussed at a Cumbria County Council meeting tomorrow. The report will highlight the parking problems, which has resulted in cars mounting the pavement and drivers having to make difficult reverse manoeuvres.
The county’s Highway Office has worked with Home Group to look at various solutions to tackle the problem. They propose to widen a section of road by removing one of two pavements on the same side of the road separated by a grassed area. This will allow two-way traffic to flow as it should and allow more space for residents to park. The project is expected to cost £19,363.
Resident Colleen Brown said: “The traffic is just a nightmare. My husband and I have lived here since January and there are always problems with the traffic.”
Fellow resident Margaret Slattery says the traffic problems have got “progressively worse” in the 23 years she has lived there.
“It’s been going on for a long time,” she said. “It gets to the point where you wonder if there has to be an accident or a child gets hurt before they are going to do anything.
“There are more cars on the road than what there used to be. There has been so many near misses. Because at the end of the day, kids play on the pavements and grass. You’ve got to watch them because sometimes drivers drive on to the kerbs to get past. They’re not supposed to drive on the kerbs but they do.”
She said sometimes there is a “stand off” where drivers refuse to move, this leads to congestion and eventually drivers have to move.
In relation to the county council’s proposals, Mrs Slattery said: “Anything is better than nothing.”
County councillor John Woolley said: “There has been a complaint about parking in Mirehouse for a long time. It wasn’t designed for cars when it was built in the late 1950s. Most households have cars now.
“I picked up the complaint for Tomlin Avenue as we put a crossing at the school [Valley School] last year. It’s an ongoing issue. There are also traffic problems at Pillar Road, which can’t be resolved.”
Copeland councillor Paul Whalley said: “It’s an ongoing problem. The proposal will mean taking the pavement up which will free up parking to the left hand side. It will allow more traffic flow up and down the road.
“If people want to miss the school rush on Whinlatter Road, they’ll use Tomlin Avenue instead, which causes further traffic problems,” he added.
He said there was similar parking problems at Mirehouse Shops, which has been solved by funding from the county council.
First published at 11:05, Thursday, 27 September 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk
Jeff Steel.
A further option might be to bring back the 06/36 & 09 buses more regularly. On each return visit I make to Whitehaven, I see fewer and fewer buses. And one huge eye-sore of a derelict bus station and its associated buildings. Disgraceful. Shameful.
View all 9 comments on this article
Have your say
This area.of road, along with roads by valley and st Gregory ate atrocious. Why do people have to park on kerbs? Isnt this illegal? The.police even do it!
Posted by Emna on 10 October 2012 at 23:29