No easy solution to Birmingham Road congestion - The Stratford Observer

No easy solution to Birmingham Road congestion

Stratford Editorial 13th Mar, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A SOLUTION to the bumper to bumper traffic on the Birmingham Road is unlikely any time soon.

So say county highway chiefs, who presented findings of a survey on the congested main road into Stratford as part of the latest ‘traffic summit’.

Following the previous summit in October, Coun John Horner, who is both a county and district councillor, said doing nothing to tackle the problem was not an option.

And residents were also vocal in wanting to see something done as a matter of urgency to end the nightmare for drivers caught up in regular tailbacks on the traffic-choked road.




Newly released findings from a Warwickshire County Council conducted traffic survey along the troublesome road in November showed around a third of drivers were heading for the Maybird shopping centre and the Tesco store.

The survey also revealed half of journeys were simply people travelling elsewhere off the Birmingham Road, while around one in six drivers were using the road as a route in and out of Stratford.


A county council spokesman confirmed further analysis would be carried out in the coming months.

Speaking about the traffic survey findings, he said: “A very small proportion of southbound through traffic on Birmingham Road comes from the A46 east or west.

“The data suggests most of these retail trips are likely to be relatively medium to long-distance rather than local, which would make it difficult to encourage a significant switch from car to walk, cycle or bus.

“This suggests there may be limited potential to reduce traffic on Birmingham Road by encouraging it to use alternative routes, e.g. Warwick Road or Alcester Road.”

The third traffic summit held last week – organised by Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi – was intended to update residents on the progess made by highway chiefs, who had been charged with coming up with a masterplan for a Stratford traffic management scheme.

Another summit is planned for later in the year.

Printing

We can provide all of your printing needs at competitive rates.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Stratford Observer newspaper.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

Recruitment

Find a career you'll love with our free career finder website.