Wincheap gyratory system

These proposals indicate piecemeal and wholly unsatisfactory traffic management layouts for Wincheap, Cow Lane, and Simmonds Road. They take little account of:

1. the effect of stationary traffic at new traffic lights on Cow Lane on residents in Wincheap
2. the dangers of two lanes of traffic at the Maiden’s Head trying to reduce to one lane to turn into the city
3. the effect of three traffic lanes in Wincheap at the city end (turning right out of Simmonds Road there will be two outbound lanes and one inbound bus lane)
4. the loss of short-term parking for businesses that make Wincheap vibrant.

Also, the proposal does not remove traffic from the first part (Morrisons end) of Wincheap, as the earlier documents stated that city-bound traffic will remain on Wincheap to Cow Lane and not be diverted along Ten Perch Road! If you add in all the new development traffic plus the slip road vehicles, then that can only increase traffic for the residential area.

All of which illustrates the problems which flow from the fact that proposals for road redesign are led by private developers in a piecemeal fashion. This is the antithesis of the required solution, which should be designed and promoted by the City Council and Kent Highways for the overall good of residents.

The closure of Wincheap to through traffic is what is required. The historic road has the potential to be the centre of the community, rather than a congested A-road continually clogged with traffic and fumes. A vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood high street feel would enable an increased number of small-scale retail businesses to flourish, foster an enhanced sense of community, and make Wincheap an attractive destination for city residents and tourists alike.

With a comprehensive traffic realignment and redevelopment of the Estate, through traffic could be removed from Wincheap itself. Some two-way traffic would be retained for access to streets such as Tudor, York and Victoria Roads. A scheme should also make provision for more short-term shopper parking.

The needs of pedestrians and cyclists should be prioritised. Any reduction of passing traffic and trade for businesses would be balanced by a greatly improved environment for pedestrians and shoppers. It is recognised that some businesses, such as the Esso garage, may be affected, but that site could be redeveloped as small units around a new informal square.

A properly considered scheme would see traffic reduced in both volume and speed by careful road design; wider pavements; a dedicated cycle route along the entire road (as well as cycle and pedestrian links to the Estate); a 20 mph speed limit; and trees planted wherever possible.

I am a resident of Wincheap (main road) and park my car on an off-street drive on Simmonds Road, so I will be directly affected by the chaos the gyratory will bring. At peak times in the morning there is already congestion from traffic heading into Canterbury, which uses Simmonds Road as a “rat run”, and this will only get worse when the gyratory system is in place. The problem is too much traffic, not the wrong route!

I welcome the idea of Wincheap having less traffic so that café culture and neighbourhood spaces can be created, but this proposal is not in line with that vision.

The creation of more houses on the slip road will simply add to an existing problem, and one that the gyratory system will not solve. Traffic needs to be diverted away from the Wincheap roundabout, not simply diverted via a system that will create bottlenecks (e.g. the Maiden’s Head) and increase pollution due to stationary traffic. Overall the system will cause queues at the Wincheap roundabout entrance and is a bad plan resulting from a bad housing plan!

As a Wincheap resident for 54 years, this type of detour of traffic has been mooted so many times. The current one has been deferred for a year to see what traffic problems might ensue from the Saxon Fields development. As for having a bus-only route, why are the only buses we get in Wincheap school buses between 7am and 9am, with one bus from Ashford during the day? The main buses travelling through Wincheap are Park and Ride, which few residents use. Most residents use their own vehicles, as the bus service is complete rubbish and the timetable almost non-existent.

No one talks to residents, as they seem to assume we are all stay-at-home oldies, with only the newcomers moving to Saxon Fields needing to be catered for. When we bought our home in 1967 there was a regular bus service through Wincheap every fifteen minutes, and it was well used; plus we had an hourly service through Wincheap to Ashford that covered the outlying villages. That all stopped when they closed St Augustine’s Hospital, and when they built 700 homes on the hospital site, traffic increased tenfold due to no public transport. Get the transport right, and at the right price, and maybe residents would leave their cars in their garages and use the buses.

I have run a shop in Wincheap for over 31 years and have seen many changes over those years. I spend a lot of time in my premises and have first-hand experience of Wincheap traffic. Over these years the Wincheap roundabout has seen a number of changes, and to date none have worked. Wincheap as a road does not have any traffic issues itself; all the issues are caused by what happens at each end of it. At one end you have the Wincheap roundabout; at the other end we have possibly the largest concentration of traffic lights in the entire south-east, and these are the points that cause the congestion. The proposed gyratory system will still have these issues, so nothing will change, and in fact it will become worse due to the extra congestion at the Maiden’s Head junction.

To reach the rear of my property I have to be travelling down Wincheap towards the city; I cannot get in from the other direction without being on the wrong side of the road. I also noted that although Wincheap was to be one-way, buses would be exempt. It sounds a little like the Westgate Towers fiasco to accommodate buses, which was eventually scrapped after the chaos it caused. It appears that bus companies have more influence than residents.

As I recall, when the local plan was originally published there was no planned housing in Thanington, yet now we have the Saxon Fields development. On the original plan the developers were only allowed to build 400 properties before a slip road off the A2 onto the Park and Ride site was to be built. Had this been completed, traffic that has to come off at Harbledown heading for Ashford would not have to go towards the city centre and then up Wincheap. When the Park and Ride was built next to the A2 there was no access off the A2 onto the site, which would have removed many vehicles. Very poor planning yet again; anyone who remembers when the Park and Ride first opened will remember the total chaos it caused.

Instead of the slip road originally proposed, we now have a huge slip road simply to give developers access to their site. The cost of this slip road must have been eye-watering, and the proposed further developments in this area can only make things far worse.

It is a great shame that local people are not involved in any of these proposals, and even worse that local input has very little effect. You obviously have to be someone with influence with the local authority and deep pockets. I am strongly opposed to the proposed gyratory system.