Boots Corner Date set for decision on pemanent closure
THE date of the decision on whether to make the Boots Corner trial closure permanent has been fixed.
The section of Clarence Street, known locally as Boots Corner, has been temporarily closed to unauthorised cars since last year to improve footfall in the town centre as part of a Cheltenham Borough Council-led scheme.
The pilot closure began on June 28, 2018, and only exempt vehicles, such as buses and taxis, can pass through.
The scheme has proved controversial as residents claim they have been affected by the trial as traffic problems has been pushed onto their roads.
Councillor Andrew Mckinlay, who is responsible for overseeing the trial on the borough council, has previously said there hasn’t been any significant traffic problems elsewhere in the town.
Two-way traffic was introduced earlier this year in part of the area near
Boots Corner to deal with traffic concerns.
Gloucestershire County Council, which is responsible for highways, will make the final call on whether the trial should be set in stone.
A date of December 2 has been set for county councillors on the authority’s traffic regulation committee to determine the outcome.
The borough council released data in July showing more people are walking and cycling across Boots Corner since the first week of the traffic ban started last year.
And a small survey of businesses in the town centre, conducted by the Cheltenham Business Improvement District, found some traders have struggled since the trial began.
In January, it was reported the High Street crossing from Rodney Road into Winchcombe Street had seen more than 1,200 extra vehicles a day since the pilot closure began.
The data from the county council shows some roads have seen as much as 35 per cent increase in traffic over a two-month period after the trial closure.
According to the figures, the roads that saw the largest increases in traffic in September 2018 were St George’s Street, St James’ Square and Winchcombe Street South, and in November 2018 they were Clarence Square, All Saints’ Road, St George’s Street, St James’ Square, Montpellier Spa Road, Rodney Road and Winchcombe Street South.
Clarence Parade and the western end of Clarence Street was opened to all vehicles with two-way traffic flow in June.
And the start of the trial area has been moved to a point in Clarence Street between Post Office Lane and Imperial Circus to give motorists a chance to avoid getting the caught by the camera.
The Pittville Street to North Street corridor is now covered by a 24-hour prohibition of driving order, with exemptions for buses, taxis and private hire vehicles with service access between 6pm and 10am.
Included in the changes are also additional blue badge parking bays in Winchcombe Street, immediately north of the High Street, and a no-waiting at any time restriction put on Post Office Lane.
Traffic calming measures on Rodney Road, such as road humps, bollards or road narrowing, are due to be introduced.