Waterloo Road Cycleway

BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – MONDAY 13 AUGUST 2007

REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ON

WATERLOO ROAD CYCLEWAY

1.Purpose of the Report and Policy Context

1.1To consider proposals for a two way, shared use, cycleway along Waterloo Road.

1.2The Capital programme implements schemes which support the Transportation strategy and delivers the targets set out in the Local Transport Plan and Best Value Performance Plan.

1.3The development of cycle lanes is in line with the Borough’s policy on cycling, which states that a safe, secure and convenient network of cycleways will be developed and maintained to encourage this form of transport.

2.Recommendations

2.1It is recommended that,

(a)the scheme as detailed in Section 4 of the Report be approved.

(b)approval be given to advertise the associated Traffic Regulation Orders.

3.Background

3.1Cycle routes currently exist in Lower Blandford Road and Gravel Hill to the North, and from Fleetsbridge roundabout towards the town centre in the South. The proposed scheme here provides the missing link along Waterloo Road to Darbys Corner roundabout. Being on the desire route many cyclists already in fact use this, and this scheme therefore formalises what is happening at present and makes it safer for cyclists and all road users.

3.2The current Capital Programme includes the investigation of cycle facilities for both Waterloo Road and at Darbys Corner. Waterloo Road is dealt with in this report, with Darbys Corner the subject of a future report.

4.Scheme Details

4.1An assessment of the best way to provide a formal cycle route along Waterloo Road has now been completed. It is known that the various cycling organisations prefer on road cycle lanes where possible.

4.2Waterloo Road is a dual carriageway and, for the most part, has a 40mph speed limit. The number of lanes varies between two and three, each of approximately 3.5m in width. Two way flows average at around 27,000 vehicles over a 12 hour period, and so this road is within the top ten busiest roads in the Borough.

4.3If on road cycle lanes were to be created they would require to be of minimum 1.5m width. However, due to the speed and number of vehicles using Waterloo Road a safety margin of a further 0.8m is recommended, i.e. a total of 2.3m. There is insufficient carriageway space available to fit this in without the loss of one vehicular lane, which is unacceptable. Furthermore, this situation would apply on both carriageways if cycle lanes in both directions are required. Creation of on road cycle lanes is therefore not possible.

4.4A scheme to provide off road cycle paths has been developed and is detailed on Drawing Nos. JC0631/01 at Appendices A and B.

4.5A two way cycle path is proposed on the East side of Waterloo Road, between Fleets Bridge and Darbys Corner. In part this will be a shared use facility with pedestrians, although pedestrian usage is not significant. The benefit of a facility on the East side is that it can utilise the two service roads.

4.6Widening of the existing footway into the verge will provide a shared use facility which varies between 2m and 3m wide. Advantage can be taken of a Development Agreement at the LIDL site, where land has been dedicated for the cycle path here.

4.7At Hatch Pond Road it is proposed to upgrade the existing signalised crossing to include toucan facilities.

4.8To maximise the space available it will be necessary to relocate existing signs and lighting columns to the back of the footway. In addition, the red light camera at the Hatch Pond Road junction will need to be moved a little.

4.9The short length of service road north of Plantation Road will need to be converted to ‘No Waiting at Any Time’ in order to be able to provide a contra flow cyclelane along this stretch.

Consultation with CLAG

4.10CLAG have been consulted about the scheme. Unsurprisingly on road cycle lanes were favoured as a preferred option although it was recognised that there would be major difficulties with this. Not least of this would be the crossing of the left slip road to Cabot Lane when travelling North - weaving traffic here would present a real danger. The group concluded that due to the difficulties involved with this it should be a longer term strategy. In the meantime the Group agreed that scheme proposed here provided currently the most deliverable solution.

Finance

4.11The estimated cost of the scheme is £165,000, which includes £40,000 for moving / upgrading the lighting columns and £35,000 to provide toucan crossing facilities at Hatch Pond Road.

4.12The current 2007/08 budget allocation for Waterloo Road and Darby’s Corner is £200,000, funded entirely from developer contributions (this includes £50,000 from the nearby Tesco development ). Due to a number of technical issues to be resolved the design for Darby’s Corner is still being produced. The final scheme will therefore be brought to a future meeting of this Group, but it is unlikely that a substantial amount of the work will be undertaken this financial year. Hence the majority of the Darby’s Corner scheme is likely to appear in the 2008/09 Capital Programme.

Julian McLaughlin

Head of Transportation Services

Appendix A – Drawing No. JC0631/01 – Layout of cycleway provision

Appendix B – Drawing No. JC0631/01 – Traffic Regulation Orders