Green light for scheme to cool major traffic hotspot
A SCHEME to make one of Macclesfield major traffic hotspots safer and less congested has been given a thumbs up.
Cheshire East Council wants to carry out work at the Flower Pot junction – where Congleton Road, Park Lane, Oxford Road and Ivy Lane all meet.
The junction is widely known for its rush hour gridlock with a study finding average maximum queues were 47 in the morning (Congleton Road) and 62 in the evening (Park Lane).
Queue lengths are expected to more than double by 2030 and the site is also considered an accident blackspot.
The proposed scheme includes turning lanes for vehicles going right from Ivy Lane to Congleton Road, left from Park Lane onto Congleton Road and left from Oxford Road onto Park Lane.
While toucan crossings would be added to Ivy Lane and Congleton
Road for cyclists and pedestrians and a traffic island on the corner of
Park Lane and Oxford Road.
An application from the council to its own planning department asking for a certificate of lawfulness for the scheme was granted this week.
This means it is considered to meet all requisite planning requirements and will not require a full planning application to be submitted, which is a lengthy process.
Even now – before the expected increase in traffic from major
developments over the next eight years – the council considers the junction to be operating above capacity.
Footpath widening would also take place on Park Lane and Congleton Road and new
‘intelligent’ traffic signals would be installed.
Councillor Nick Mannion, from Macclesfield West and Ivy ward, has said the safety aspect is also essential as it is on the route for school runs.
He said: “Hundreds of young people cross this junction twice a day going too and from school and college,
“The improvements to this very busy junction are essential to make it safer for all – drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
“Alleviating vehicle congestion is a major issue, but we also need to recognise and factor in the safety needs of other users such as pedestrians and cyclists moving through the junction when designing the new layout.”