Bypass might not be the answer

Published on 04/06/2012 14:15

I WRITE in response to the letter from Jane Snelling (May 16) regarding the need for a Western bypass.

While I agree with Jane that the traffic situation through Market Harborough is a disaster, I’m not sure that a bypass is the answer.

The current finances mean that a centrally-funded bypass is not an option, and even if it was, a recent Highways Authority survey showed that the effect of another bypass would be very small.

It is estimated that a bypass would remove less than 10 per cent of the daily traffic entering the town. The report goes on to conclude that the increase in traffic in Market Harborough is mostly attributable to short journeys from within the local area.

This is an issue that the council and housing developers have repeatedly promised, but failed to tackle.

We should also be clear on the difference between a ‘link road’ and a ‘bypass’.

The idea of a link road between the B6047 and A4304 would not be suitable as a means of removing traffic from the town centre.

It would be a housing estate road, and much like Alvington Way, it would probably have speed humps, width and weight restrictions and other traffic-calming measures to keep residents and pedestrians safe.

This kind of link road would do nothing except provide a “spine” from which developers could build more and more houses and contribute to yet more congestion.

The solution for traffic reduction doesn’t seem to be a link road.

Instead, I would like to see the council create a credible ‘alternative transport’ plan, to reduce short car journeys into the town.

I would also like to see the council take a good look at its housing targets for Market Harborough.

I don’t think that local residents want another 2,000+ new houses in the area, which will only increase the pain for those who use the town centre.

Steve Keep,

Hill Top Close,

Harborough.

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Bypass might not be the answer

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