by Sue ReadTO TRY to resolve some of the road problems in Crediton town, a meeting is being sought with councillors, Devon County Council, traffic engineer Jonathan Tricker and perhaps the MP Mel Stride to look at ideas.

Jonathan Tricker, who lives near Crediton, has 20 years’ commercial experience in transport and urban design, focusing on urban and development planning.

He went through the third draft of his 12-page Crediton Town Centre Traffic and Urban Realm Study at Tuesday’s town council meeting.

He said one problem was the erosion of pedestrian space and the implication for the social and economic viability of the town.

He said Crediton had a large proportion of heavy goods vehicles and rural traffic which made a complicated picture.

Mr Tricker had taken five main areas - the western gateway Western Road, the core retail area of the High Street, Haywards School and the parish church area, the east gateway of East Street, Mill Street and Charlotte Street, and the Leisure Centre area, all places where there were most accidents.

Main problems were speed of traffic, the amount of heavy goods and rural vehicles and making crossing the road better for pedestrians, plus the visual aspect of the town.

On Western Road some sort of traffic engineering was needed to try to slow traffic. Mr Tricker said one difficulty was “the sheer amount of tarmac” and quite narrow pavements.

He suggested something such as the new scheme now going in by Blundell’s School in Tiverton, or what has been done at Gloucester Docks.

’WAY BELOW 30MPH’

Traffic needed to be slowed to “way below 30 mph” in this area and towards the High Street.

In the core retail area, starting from just before St Saviours Way almost to the War Memorial, Mr Tricker suggested having long central islands in the road, giving a narrow “lane” that people could cross informally.

He said this was being done in other places in the UK with tree planting to the parking areas. He said Crediton High Street has “some pretty decent architecture”. Among benefits of planting trees were that they were good for the environment and could be mixed with parking bays.

The junctions of the High Street with Searle Street and with Market Street could be changed.

Mr Tricker said the town square was a very successful project that should be celebrated.

ISLANDS

Around Haywards School and the parish church, Mr Tricker suggested councillors looked at what had been done at Poynton, Cheshire with successful informal roundabouts. These could go at the Church Street junction and the Bowden Hill and Dean Street junction on East Street.

Again, the road was wide enough to put in a central median or island with trees to the parking bays.

Another informal roundabout could be put at the junction of Charlotte Street with Mill Street. Mr Tricker said this area was an important gateway with much traffic turning and would benefit from an implied mini roundabout or roundel to better manage turning traffic, allow informal pedestrian crossing and slow main road traffic.

As for the final area, part of Mill Street and around the Leisure Centre, Mr Tricker said the zebra crossing on Mill Street should be kept, the pavement needed to be continued and the pathway to Hawkins Way made more obvious. The junction with Blagdon needed to change as did the junction with Lords Meadow plus measures to reduce traffic speed.

’MEGABUCKS’

Councillors liked the ideas but council chairman, Cllr Frank Letch voiced their thoughts when he said this would cost “megabucks” and Devon County Council could not afford at present to be that generous.

Mr Tricker replied that some of the ideas had been done in other parts of the country. Cllr John Downes thought the ideas were “tremendous”. He reminded the council that the county council had said it would do work in the town including on Marsh Lane when the results of its traffic survey were out.

He was told that had arrived at the town council office that afternoon. However, the High Street was the heart of the town and most people would consider this to be the biggest problem, especially when trying to cross it on foot.

PLANNING

Because it owns land around the reservoir at the top off George Hill, councillors were unable to comment on a planning application to convert and extend the existing building there to a dwelling with a new access to serve the existing utilities.

The town council owns neighbouring Upper Deck and so, under the Code of Conduct which changed in 2013, it could make no comment.

Mid Devon District Council is the planning authority which makes decisions on planning applications.

There was no objections to an application for work to an oak tree with a Tree Preservation Order on it at 3 Southfield Drive.

Nor was there objection to an application to keep a domestic workshop at 57 High Street.

The council had no objection to an application for change of use from Class B8 (industrial unit) to Class D2 (assembly and leisure) and alterations to give disabled access at Unit 3, Westward Business Centre, Mill Street.

A copy of Mr Tricker’s report is available to read at the Crediton Town Council office.