If
anyone thinks the closure of the Flemingate railway crossing will “cut Beverley
in half”, I'm afraid they ain’t seen nothing yet.
Many people who walk along Flemingate, Eastgate, Lairgate
and many other roads have thought Beverley has been cut into half and many other
smaller pieces for a long time now, by the volume of traffic using our town
centre streets.
With three and half thousand new houses being planned in
and around the town, without radical plans to change motor vehicle access around
the town centre, I'm afraid Flemingate, Eastgate, Champney Road, Lairgate and
other town centre streets, will all become Beverley's biggest car park. Anyone
who has had the pleasure of sitting in a traffic jam in Beverley has seen the
future of our town unless we do something to change it.
We have a medieval street layout in the middle of
Beverley. How long can that and 21st
century traffic continue to mix?
I haven't yet had chance to view the council's Transport plan. I hope it includes development of high quality, Dutch-style cycling infrastructure with priority for access to the town centre given to pedestrians and cyclists to save us from a traffic congested future and improving the quality of life for residents and other users of the town centre.
Well I can hope.
