A senior Wrexham councillor is calling for further traffic modelling on the Regent Street Active tTravel scheme before a construction contract is awarded, after the scheme’s designers stated that its impact on peak-hour queuing “cannot be robustly quantified”, reports Wrexham.com.
Cllr Phil Wynn, ward member for Brynyffynnon and the council’s lead member for education, said the work should be completed “before the design is set in stone”.
The Welsh Government funded scheme would see a section of Regent Street made one-way, with a new cycleway, new and relocated pedestrian crossings, new paving and tree planting along the route between Wrexham General railway station and the city centre.
In correspondence seen by Wrexham.com, Cllr Wynn raised a series of questions about the design with council officers earlier this year. The scheme’s designers have now provided a written response, addressing points including junction layouts, pavement widths and traffic movements.
On the question of traffic queuing, the document states: “No further traffic modelling has been undertaken as part of the detailed design stage.”
It adds: “As an active travel scheme, the primary focus of the design development has been on improving provision for walking and cycling rather than assessing vehicular traffic impacts. As such, the potential effects on traffic queuing along Central Road/Bradley Road towards the Watery Road roundabout during peak hours have not been modelled, and the impacts at this junction cannot be robustly quantified.”
The document also states: “The modelling was undertaken prior to the development of the detailed design, which has subsequently evolved.”
Cllr Wynn has warned his colleagues on the Executive Board that he believes the design is “anti car” in the city centre, and although he supports the wider project, if ‘design faults’ are not addressed “then deservedly the ruling coalition will receive a public backlash ten times more critical than the comments received following the regeneration of the High Street”.
Cllr Wynn said his position “is not opposition to Active Travel”, adding: “On the contrary, I support the wider aims of encouraging walking and cycling and improving the appearance and accessibility of the corridor. However, good planning requires that we fully understand both the benefits and the consequences of major design changes.”
He said:
“I am therefore calling on the Council’s highways and Active Travel officers to undertake further review and modelling of the likely traffic impacts, particularly at key junctions where new signal controls are proposed. This work should be completed before the scheme is awarded to a contractor, so that any necessary refinements can be considered before the design is set in stone.”
(Picture: Wrexham Council)
