News
Gridlock fears for the city centre
Monday 10 March 2008
Coltsgate Hill will be temporarily closed to allow construction of a link road.
"It will be an absolute nightmare." Richard Fieldman, Ripon Taxi Association.
RIPON is bracing itself for potential city centre gridlock with a busy route set to close for up to nine months.
North Yorkshire County Council has issued an order closing Coltsgate Hill, which is used by motorists to avoid the busy one-way system around Market Place, from March 31 to the end of December.
The closure is to allow construction of a link road from Coltsgate Hill to Blossomgate, which will also provide access to the west of Market Place development currently under construction.
But there are fears traffic chaos could paralyse the city centre when the road closure takes effect.
'grinding halt'
Former Mayor of Ripon, John Richmond, recalls when Coltsgate Hill was made one-way a few years ago as part of a three-month traffic management experiment.
He said: "It brought the city to an absolute, grinding halt."
Because of the traffic build up, the three-month experiment was abandoned after just one day. But the road closure at the end of the month will stop traffic going in both directions on Coltsgate Hill – prompting fears the gridlock will be even worse.
Richard Fieldman, chairman of Ripon Taxi Association, was not looking forward to the closure given past experience.
'absolute nightmare'
"It will be an absolute nightmare, as it always is when Coltsgate Hill is closed, " he said.
"It's a main road for the school traffic and the closure will mean it all has to come through the city centre."
Although access for pedestrians to premises will be maintained at all times, an alternative route for traffic will be signposted and vehicle access to Coltsgate Hill will be by liaison with the contractor.
problems
County Coun Bernard Bateman said he did not want a repeat of the problems which affected traders on Blossomgate when roadworks relating to the west of Market Place development began there last July.
"After the fracas with the new development on Blossomgate, I will be working very strongly with the council's highways department to ensure the signage is put into place effectively," he said.
"We will ensure businesses are not affected and ensure residents are kept informed about any closures."
Because a contractor to carry out the work has not been appointed yet, North Yorkshire County Council said it could not confirm whether the road will be continuously closed to traffic during the enforcement period of the order or just for sporadic periods within the allotted time frame.
'flexibility'
"We have applied for that length of period to give flexibility to the contractor once they are appointed," said Elwyn Williams, transport and land use strategy manager for the council.
"At this point in time, we cannot state what exactly the duration of the closure will be."
The council hopes to appoint a contractor very soon and wants to ensure Christmas trade in Ripon is not hit by the road closure, despite the closure order lasting until December 31.
Mr Williams said: "Those tendering are aware that they would not be allowed to close Coltsgate Hill in December."
