Route changes for popular run
Organisers defend decision to re-route popular classic tour away from spectators and on to a busy trunk road
Classic fans have hit out at plans to re-route a long-running tour for older vehicles along a busy dual carriageway.
The Ipswich to Felixstowe Classic Vehicle Run & Rally has seen hundreds of classic vehicles start a run to Felixstowe promenade from the nearby Ipswich Transport Museum. Current road improvement works, which began on 14 March and run until 16 May, are part of the reason why organisers have planned the new route that takes in more A-roads.
In previous years, spectators lined up along the traditional route out of Ipswich past St Augustine’s church and along Felixstowe Road. The new suggested route along Foxhall Road to the A12 & A14 means less cars to see.
Vehicles taking part vary wildly in age and top speed with buses and commercials and even some vintage cars taking part in previous years. Concerns have been raised on the museum’s Facebook group that some of the older vehicles taking part are being asked to use two busy A-roads and owners might not feel safe doing so without proper marshalling.
Co-founder of local club East Coast Retros, Michael Carpenter, said that the cheering and waving spectators were large part of the appeal: ‘It’s a shame that they have to go along the A14 because it means that people can’t wave from the side of the road, but it’s something that the organisers can’t help. I suspect that it will all be back to normal again next year. We won’t be there as a club, but many of our members will be.’
The run’s organisers said that with 620 entries – including classic trucks and buses – they had decided to reroute the event for most participants to avoid congestion.
Ipswich Transport Museum rally coordinator, Peter Cansick, said: ‘This year one pinch point occurs immediately after a single track road running next to the A14 where there is a new housing development being built; it consists of a three-way traffic light system with very little room for vehicles Felixstowe-bound to queue.
‘We decided therefore to dissipate the numbers going through that area and bypass it completely. We will have people going that way of course but not in the numbers that will cause severe congestion. We have recommended that most of them travel via the A14 for some of the route but the bulk of the parade will follow the usual route through Ipswich and then divert to the changed route.
‘This way we hope to avoid the problem of older cars boiling over en-route as we have had in the past. We also expect to be able to park our participants at Felixstowe earlier than in previous years, because some drivers have taken more than an hour to get from Ipswich to Felixstowe during previous events.’