Town’s transport issues under the spotlight
Friday, 14th January 2011.
Haverhill’s transport drawbacks were highlighted by councillors yesterday when they were given a presentation on Suffolk County Council’s Local Transport Plan (LTP).
The presentation was about how the county council will go about drawing up its new LTP, which will be for 20 years, whereas previous ones have only been for five years, a restriction the Government has now withdrawn.
But councillors were keen to show up the many areas where Haverhill’s needs were not addressed, even at this early stage. Maps were criticised for only showing Suffolk, and Haverhill in the corner, with no sense of the importance of links to Cambridge or to Essex.
The key issues put forward by the county council for improvement were the Haverhill-Bury St Edmunds bus, Haverhill north-west relief road, the town cycle network, the condition of roads in the town and the rural footway network coming into the town.
However, working party vice-chairman Cllr Karen Richardson said there were a lot of other important issues, particularly the links to the rail network.
“We have to go out of the county to get a train, because there is no point in going north to Bury,” she said. “People use Whittlesford or Audley End. Our park and ride car park for Cambridge is always full. The bus which takes students to West Suffolk College in Bury is very early.
“There is no public transport to West Suffolk Hospital on a Sunday – our main hospital – so people can’t visit. Visitors to Haverhill cannot get further than Cambridge. We have to go there to collect them.”
Cllr Anne Gower said there was a problem of lorries coming into the town centre because there was not adequate signage telling drivers it was pedestrianised or one-way.
Other issues raised included the number of people who travel to Stansted Airport to work, although the bus service from Haverhill had been discontinued as it was not viable. There was also no bus service to the most convenient rail station, at Audley End.
Haverhill town centre manager Tina Hanks described the poor public transport links as ‘a key barrier’ to young people in Haverhill.
The presentation was about how the county council will go about drawing up its new LTP, which will be for 20 years, whereas previous ones have only been for five years, a restriction the Government has now withdrawn.
But councillors were keen to show up the many areas where Haverhill’s needs were not addressed, even at this early stage. Maps were criticised for only showing Suffolk, and Haverhill in the corner, with no sense of the importance of links to Cambridge or to Essex.
The key issues put forward by the county council for improvement were the Haverhill-Bury St Edmunds bus, Haverhill north-west relief road, the town cycle network, the condition of roads in the town and the rural footway network coming into the town.
However, working party vice-chairman Cllr Karen Richardson said there were a lot of other important issues, particularly the links to the rail network.
“We have to go out of the county to get a train, because there is no point in going north to Bury,” she said. “People use Whittlesford or Audley End. Our park and ride car park for Cambridge is always full. The bus which takes students to West Suffolk College in Bury is very early.
“There is no public transport to West Suffolk Hospital on a Sunday – our main hospital – so people can’t visit. Visitors to Haverhill cannot get further than Cambridge. We have to go there to collect them.”
Cllr Anne Gower said there was a problem of lorries coming into the town centre because there was not adequate signage telling drivers it was pedestrianised or one-way.
Other issues raised included the number of people who travel to Stansted Airport to work, although the bus service from Haverhill had been discontinued as it was not viable. There was also no bus service to the most convenient rail station, at Audley End.
Haverhill town centre manager Tina Hanks described the poor public transport links as ‘a key barrier’ to young people in Haverhill.
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