Traffic - Trust Annual Report 1964
Traffic is a topic which has been in the forefront during the past year. The publication of the Buchanan Report produced some bold ideas to meet the threat of traffic chaos on a national scale, and forcefully presented the magnitude of the question. In July the problem was brought home to the citizens of Winchester by the publication of the City Council's proposals. We are pleased to be able to reproduce a plan illustrating these proposals. This plan originally appeared in the Hampshire Chronicle, and is printed here by kind permission of that newspaper.
City of Winchester Proposed Traffic Plan
The Committee of the Preservation Trust discussed the proposals and a special meeting was called for members and their friends in the Friary Hall in Canon Street. The hall was packed and the two hundred available chairs proved insufficient. Those who could not get seats stood at the back of the hall. This large support was an indication of the keen interest and anxiety which had been caused by the City Council's proposals.
The meeting was opened by the Chairman, who pointed out how fortunate we were in Winchester compared with some other Cathedral cities, which were now indistinguishable from any other town except for the immediate vicinity of the Cathedral, with all the other historic buildings and streets cleared away.
This must not be allowed to happen in Winchester, unique in having a combination of ancient City and magnificent river landscape which is rarely found today.
The Chairman then outlined what a Preservation Trust could and could not do. First of all, it could combat ignorance and apathy, so that a large body of the citizens could form an enlightened public opinion. In this context it is not only outstanding architecture which must be retained, but also the humbler building which together help to give character.
A parallel was then drawn between the present proposals and the coming of the railway in the 19th century. The first plan was for the railway to come right through the city between Jewry Street and the Westgate arch. Fortunately wiser counsels prevailed and a cutting, which we all know, was made for the railway higher up the hill. This change preserved the city from the worst effects of the railway age while allowing the benefits of the new service. There can be no doubt that the second plan was more expensive than the first, but this was not allowed to influence the decision.
There are similarities in the present situation. It is undoubtedly necessary to have some way of absorbing the increased traffic of the future. It is the function of the Trust to try and ensure that the necessary new roads are right for Winchester and the whole community.
The drawing, by Mary Faiburn, shows the four houses overlooking the railway, at the Romsey Road end of St. James' Terrace. These houses would disappear if the road, proposed in the city plan, linking Romsey Road and St. Cross Road, were to be constructed
As we drive about the country today, each one of us in our own car, the right and freedom to do so has often been achieved by the sacrifice of individual liberties, for the common good. But each one of us living by the roadside does so under the constant threat that his particular property may one day be subject to compulsory purchase for a road improvement scheme.
The Trust cannot protect the interests of any one individual, but it can try to ensure that the result of such far reaching plans is in the best interests of the whole community. The meeting had been called to allow people to make constructive suggestions. There was no doubt that a traffic plan was necessary, but it was probable that the proposed plan could be improved in many ways.
The Chairman ended by reading a statement which the Committee had authorised him to make at the Open Meeting called by the Town Clerk for July 28th. This statement was subsequently modified and enlarged at a further committee meeting, in the light of the opinions expressed from the floor. The Vice-Chairman took the opportunity of reading the City Council minutes which dealt with the traffic proposals.
The final version of the prepared statement which was read out by the Chairman at the Town Meeting on July 28th is given below.
An explanation and amplification is given after some of the items, so that members of the Trust may have fuller information on the issues which guided the Committee in drawing up the statement.
Members of the Trust and many others would urge the City Council to press for a western By-Pass as early as possible. This to be in addition to the Kingsworthy¬Andover Road link due to be started in 1965.
(The present by-pass is to be extended from Kingsworthy to Three Maids Hill on the Andover Road in 1965.
Originally engineered for speeds of 50 miles an hour, the existing part of the by-pass is quite inadequate by modern standards.
A new additional western by-pass will be necessary to deal with the increased volume of traffic from Southampton to the North and it would also serve the western traffic leading towards Stockbridge.)
The Trust would wish to see an exhaustive investigation of the possibility of constructing a road over, or immediately alongside, on the west of the railway, in preference to the suggested new road connecting Romsey Road and St. Cross Road. Such a road could by-pass the village of St. Cross, whose preservation is of vital concern to the Trust. It is felt most strongly that the published proposal can only lead to the destruction of St. Cross by the necessity of widening the road. The Trust also wishes to see St. James' Terrace preserved intact.
(The weakest part of the plan is undoubtedly the new road connecting Romsey Road with St. Cross Road. This is unsatisfactory because it has too many corners and is 54 feet wide. This is one way only. Traffic in the opposite direction has to travel through Southgate Street, which is much narrower, and both streams of traffic have to pass through St. Cross which is narrower still.
This can only result in one thing—the destruction of the village of St. Cross. This the Trust would vigorously oppose and advocates a plan which allows the traffic to flow right round St. Cross. It also seems wrong to disturb the quiet and important residential area served by Christchurch Road and Edgar Road. This is being quietly redeveloped in a sensible way by allowing new building and improvements where there is ample space.)
The French resort of Cannes on the Cote d'Azur has solved its difficult traffic problem by the simple yet bold plan to raise a roof over the railway track and run a motor road along the top. Cars speed along the roadway on four traffic lanes, with trains running as usual beneath.
There is strong support for the proposal that all through heavy traffic should be forbidden in the centre of the town. This has been done already in a number of other towns in accordance with the Road Traffic Act of 1960. In this connection consideration should also be given to the traffic problems generated by the parking of heavy goods vehicles in the coach station. Another site on the existing by-pass would be an advantage.
(No further explanation of this point seems necessary, but its importance was brought home to everyone when a heavily loaded lorry got out of control in the High Street during August, and ran the wrong way down the one way section below Jewry Street. It is miraculous that this occurrence was not accompanied by a great loss of life.)
The Traffic Plan is not only a Highways matter but is closely linked with the planning of the City as a whole. The siting of business premises has a great influence on the generation of traffic.
(During the past ten years there has been a revolution in retailing methods in the main shopping area. Although the number of square feet of business premises remains the same, the area has been made far more paroductive and caters for many more people. This involves more goods coming in by lorry, and more cars used by shoppers to collect the goods. This situation has been met by creating the one way system between the High Street and St. George's Street, and providing massive car parks.
The aim of keeping traffic out of central Winchester cannot be realized if a separate planning authority, acting independently, allows further development of business premises. Planning and traffic problems must be worked out together. It seems that saturation point has now been reached for the present road system, but great improvement would result from a western by-pass.)
It is questionable whether the new roads need to be so wide. Wide roads are not suitable for a city of the character of Winchester.
(The effects of disproportionate road widths have already been shown in the note under 2 above.)
In the proposed plan, it is observed that any properties belonging to the Government or Local Authorities have been carefully avoided. These properties already belong to the whole community and their use may quite possibly provide better facilities for improved traffic conditions, than the smaller properties of private individuals. The difficulties of negotiating with these bodies should not be allowed to act as a deterrent. For example the part of the Barracks bordering the railway line would plainly provide a much better route than the one shown in the proposed plan.
Sir Keith Joseph, Minister of Housing and Local Government, is at present enquiring into the position of ancient towns in relation to modern traffic. Winchester should apply to the Minister for inclusion in the study, and in any case no action should be taken by the City to implement the present plan or modifications until the Minister's report is published.
Finally the Trust considers that the order of priorities in Winchester's traffic plan is as follows:—
The completion of the Kingsworthy-Andover Road link.
The construction of a new western by-pass to the best modern standards.
The overall planning of the City with due regard to traffic generation of all new developments.
(The order of priorities is important. If the present plan were put into operation, especially the much criticised section between Romsey Road and St. Cross, traffic will immediately flow in, and there will be no incentive to build a western by-pass until the damage has been done, and it is too late to save St. Cross.).