Calls for an urgent and thorough traffic analysis of heavy lorries on the B1078 north of Ipswich have been backed by Suffolk Preservation Society
The society, the countys leading conservation body, has added its voice to those living beside the road who are affected every day by 44-ton HGVs through their villages.
Richard Ward, director of Suffolk Presentation Society, said: “It is imperative that this study is carried out as soon as possible. We have been concerned for some time about the adverse effect of the lorries, both on the environment and on the many people who live alongside the B1078. We want to play a positive part in this review, the results of which could feed into future policies regarding the use of rural roads by HGVs.”
He has written to Cllr Guy McGregor, who heads up Suffolk County Councils transport committee, in support of the request by local campaigning group Save Our Rural Roads (SORR).
Mr Ward added: “We need to understand more so that lorry drivers can be offered real alternatives to routes which are difficult to negotiate. For example foreign lorry drivers often rely on Sat Nav to find their way around, but Sat Nav doesnt tell you if there is a tricky corner on the route it advises you use. I dont want to pre-empt the outcome of the review but perhaps we need to be putting pressure on the Sat Nav companies to flag up any physical problems on the route much earlier.”
SORR member David Hudson, who lives beside the B1078 at Coddenham, said his village was particularly affected by an average of 93 HGVs driving through it every day.
Houses in the centre of the village open out on to the road, which is narrow in places and has a right-angled bend in the centre of the village.
“Lorries can only get round that junction if they swing right round to the other side and cut across,” he said. “If an HGV meets a bus on the school run, the bus has to reverse. Meanwhile, everybody is pulling up behind and they have to reverse back into a wider part of the road or in to peoples driveways. You can imagine the time it all takes.
“Its been like this for quite a long time but it has been gradually getting worse as the number of HGVs is getting greater.”
Mr Hudson said an independent study of HGVs in Coddenham carried out by the Freight Transport Association concluded that the road was: “..dangerous to all concerned. There can be few worse situations anywhere in the country.”
He added a study undertaken in September 2004 over a five-day period showed an average of 93 HGV movements through Coddenham every day.
The B1078 is the designated route for HGVs travelling from the A140 to the A12. It cuts off about three quarters of the alternative journey, along the A14 to pick up the A12 south of Ipswich and travel north to Wickham Market.
SORR, a group of residents who live all along the B1078, was set up to campaign to mitigate the effects of HGVs on all local communities.
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Notes to editors
* SPS is the countys leading conservation body, with a growing membership of more than 2,000 people. It is a county branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England. For more details about SPS, visit www.suffolksociety.org
For more information contact:
Richard Ward, SPS, tel 01787 247179, or
Email nicola.brown@geronimocommunications.com