Marple Website Community Calendar
Archive => Archived Boards => Local Issues => Topic started by: Jay on July 13, 2017, 05:49:21 PM
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What is up with the traffic on Hibbert Lane? It's constantly backed up to Brindly Ave and sometimes to Edwards Way. Are the lights completely out of sync!
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Just wait to the Morris Homes development is fully built and occupied the queues will be right back to before Buxton Lane and maybe even worse.
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From what I can tell, problems tend to arise in three main time bands - 8-9, 12-1 and 5-6. It's rush hour in Marple!
Little more seriously, in my experience it's delays turning right into Stockport Road. You turn right then pretty much always get immediately hit by a red light at the junction of Hollins Lane. If that red light has backed up with traffic from Stockport Road, it's difficult for drivers to get out of Hibbert Lane, so backing up starts. And once it starts, it gets worse and worse.
What's the solution? Changing the Hollins Lane traffic lights to favour Hibbert Lane drivers would just cause backing up on Stockport Road.
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From what I can tell, problems tend to arise in three main time bands - 8-9, 12-1 and 5-6. It's rush hour in Marple!
I'd amend these times to make the last 4-6, not every day but often the traffic is backed up towards the Morris homes site c 1615.
To me it's about a v slight change in the timings. The trouble turning right only seems to happen every alternate change of the lights and is caused by the lights at the Natwest bank. From memory it only started when the road was resurfaced and the light controls redone. it may be a nuisance now but if as many expect the volume of traffic increases one the SEMMS Road is opened then the issues will become more widespread if more traffic starts to divert via Buxton Road
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Perfect case when I was walking back from the swimming pool. Traffic stationary on Stockport Road, so no traffic could even get out of Hibbert Lane.
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I have a theory, following observations on Fri at 5:30. Very few cars got through the Hollins Lane (Natwest) lights in the Glossop direction because four cars were waiting to turn right into Trinity St, and cars couldn't pass on the left because of a vehicle parked at the Hollins bus stop. The whole junction was blocked in the Glossop direction for almost the whole cycle.
Would reversing the flow of Trinity St (i.e. back to its original direction) improve things? Also I vaguely recall a plan to widen the junction at this point, but that seems a bit drastic.
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I vaguely recall a plan to widen the junction at this point, but that seems a bit drastic.
That's a great idea. It needs to go hand in hand with the demolition of Marple's ugliest buildings, the Hollins row of shops. The resulting space could then be landscaped, planted with trees, and with a newly built and attractively designed cafe with external seating (Costa Coffee could have it if they wanted!). There would be more space for the buses, and a bit of short-term parking (max 30 minutes). Stockport Road would be widened between Hollins Lane and the cinema to allow traffic waiting to turn right into Hollins Lane and Trinity Street to do so without causing a blockage. You could even consider laying Poynton- style 'shared space' paving across the road, to slow down the traffic and create a link with Market Street.
That would create a 'centre' for the town, which it sorely lacks at the moment.
Just a thought.........
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That's a great idea. It needs to go hand in hand with the demolition of Marple's ugliest buildings, the Hollins row of shops. The resulting space could then be landscaped, planted with trees, and with a newly built and attractively designed cafe with external seating (Costa Coffee could have it if they wanted!). There would be more space for the buses, and a bit of short-term parking (max 30 minutes). Stockport Road would be widened between Hollins Lane and the cinema to allow traffic waiting to turn right into Hollins Lane and Trinity Street to do so without causing a blockage. You could even consider laying Poynton- style 'shared space' paving across the road, to slow down the traffic and create a link with Market Street.
That would create a 'centre' for the town, which it sorely lacks at the moment.
Just a thought.........
Great idea Dave lets get rid of shops so people can go elswere and shop .you will be sugesting they buld on the park next .
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Just wait to the Morris Homes development is fully built and occupied the queues will be right back to before Buxton Lane and maybe even worse.
The traffic is frequently backed up past Buxton Lane and those in the know are starting to cut through the council estate. It isn't just early morning and evening, either. I've been jammed there at 11am and mid afternoon.
I've been saying for a long time that the traffic lights aren't sync'd properly but was sneered at on this site.
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it is not just that the lights are not synced properly, but the awful and inconsiderate parking on Stockport road restricts the flow of traffic.
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The lights themselves are controlled by a unit (of people that is!) at TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester).
SMBC are shortly conducting there own survey of Marple town centre usage - cars, lorries, buses, bikes and pedestrians. At least we'll know the current situation before any changes are suggested.
So I am pleased to say we've not been forgotten in the big Stockport building works that are going on at the moment (A6, Stockport Ho,mes HQ, Redrock and the space outside the station).
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Marple Civic Society has unveiled their alternate vision for Marple Town Centre:
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XXWxyMeNsg/WqfPrpmqI_I/AAAAAAAADiw/QRDTqTZ5dfk-rQ1csoh5ttVh40sBogD_QCLcBGAs/s1600/town%2Bcentre%2BillustrationJPG%2Bcropped.jpg)
Click here to read more about this on their web site. (http://marplecivicsociety.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/marple-town-centre-regeneration-scheme.html)
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hmm. - help to reduce traffic congestion... The picture looks like its Poynton, and we all know how wonderful (not) it is trying to get around there since the changes.
So, its a no from me.
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Look in the distance on that picture. You'll see loads of traffic. Look in the foreground. No traffic.
I know which is more representative of reality.
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The Poynton scheme is excellent for equalising pedestrian/vehicle management. So vehicle's have to take second place and are delayed a little, does it really matter if road safety is improved which it has been.
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The Poynton scheme is excellent for equalising pedestrian/vehicle management. So vehicle's have to take second place and are delayed a little, does it really matter if road safety is improved which it has been.
Delayed a little ?? Is there stats to prove that road safety in poynton has improved ?
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The question must surely be who should have priority in places like Poynton or the one illustrated above, is it local people walking about doing there shopping etc or is it traffic basting through to Chester, the airport , Stockport and Hayfield and beyond.
Do we not all accept that there is a hierarchy on our roads and for traffic management schemes being pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, public transport vehicles and finally car users.
If we as a society don't accept that we have a problem.
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Generally - as a motorist and a pedestrian - I think the standard belief that the car should reign supreme is wrong and that we need to look at rebalancing our environments. Making them a nice place to be should be welcomed. (This is equally why I do not understand suggestions I have seen that we should re-open Market Street to cars.) More people using public transport should be encouraged (equally we need better public transport.)
What I am anti is vision photos that show unrealistic experiences. I've only driven through Poynton once, but it was a horrible experience on a Saturday afternoon - cars clogged up everywhere. Safe to say as a motorist it probably did its job in that I never want to drive through Poynton again. However as I was heading to the Anson Engine Museum, I had no choice!
I think we can safely say that a realistic photograph for Marple with such a scheme in place would involve a LOT more cars, and probably pedestrians trying to weave themselves in between them because there's no longer a defined crossing.
Let's not beat around the bush. The only way we'll see a significant improvement in the area is with fewer cars on the road. Without that, everything else is pretty irrelevant.
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Hmmm..... From the picture, it looks like an interesting way to wreck Marple. I'll have to read the document later. Personally, I very much like Marple as it is now and yes I do walk into and in the town as well as driving through. I've never had a problem as a pedestrian. The anti-car nonsense one comes across all too often is just as daft as the occasional nonsense from a few motorists who think pedestrians should not exist.
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The Poynton scheme is excellent for persuading people to avoid Poynton if possible. I very much doubt it does anything for road safety, except possibly to reduce it.
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The Poynton scheme is excellent for persuading people to avoid Poynton if possible. I very much doubt it does anything for road safety, except possibly to reduce it.
Actually accident rates in Poynton decreased according to this article
https://www.citymetric.com/skylines/shared-spaces-clever-trick-safer-roads-or-step-backwards-chaos-981
Not entirely surprising. Speeds also reduced and there's a direct link between speed and accidents. if you're going slower, it's easier to respond. And if something does happen, anyone being hit by a car going at 20mph will escape with minor injuries, compared to 30mph.
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Replacing the roundabout at the Hibbert Lane/Church Lane junction with traffic lights make no sense!
The whole point of a roundabout is to allow the flow of traffic, putting in traffic lights will hold up the the higher level of traffic with no certainty that the lane with the green light will be queuing with cars, therefore increasing congestion.
My bet would be putting a round about Hibbert Lane/Stockport Road and Hollins Lane/Stockport Road would allow smoother flowing of traffic through the area.
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I'm no fan of the Civic Society (far from it), but I think this is a very welcome proposal. Our town centre is an ugly mess, with buildings from the worst period of British architecture (the Hollins, M&Co, and many others) Not a lot can be done about that, but this kind of imaginative redesign could at least make it more liveable-in and mitigate the dominance of vehicles over pedestrians.
The comparison with Poynton doesn't really stand up. The problem at Poynton is not Park Lane, it's the two pseudo-roundabouts at the junction with the main road. No-one knows what to do there, and near-misses are common. If the Poynton scheme had just been confined to Park Lane it would have been fine.
But this proposed Marple 'shared space' scheme, as far as we can tell from the image and plans, is only on Stockport Road, with two junctions (Hollins Lane and Hibbert Lane) that will be much simpler than the notorious cross roads at Poynton.
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Hello all who read this
With regards to the Civic Society and their plan for the Town centre, I met with Gillian from the group this week to have a look a look at the plans and discuss. On a personal note I liked the idea of lessening the physical split in the 2 main shopping areas due to Stockport Road dividing them, I also liked the thought of getting people over the road in a potentially safer manner. Of course there are issues that need further research and challenge though, truck deliveries into businesses, costings and ensuring it will definitely improve where we live as examples.
On a view as a Councillor candidate and resident, I think that this has opened debate and allowed people to air their views which I think is excellent, as it would be with any proposal that promotes ideas to improve where we live.
I will be putting some of the pictures up at my 'meet and greet' at Marple fire station this coming Sunday afternoon with the facility to suggest and comment on areas you like/dislike.
Kind regards
Steve Gribbon
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Does this mean you think there is a role for unelected unaccountable bodies to push their views on the rest of us.
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Does this mean you think there is a role for unelected unaccountable bodies to push their views on the rest of us.
No 'wheels', it means that someone invited me to listen to an idea then I would do for 2 reasons: 1. I am all for listening to suggestions and enjoy discussion; and 2. I live in the area and want to hear what people say, I think it would be rude and ignorant of me if I declined an invitation. This is the same for anyone who contacted me, and it has been that way since I began my Councillor campaign.
I hope this satisfies your question?
Kind regards
Steve Gribbon
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One of the main problems with the centre of Marple is the volume of traffic passing through to New Mills.
There is a high number of BIG lorries going towards New Mills despite the signs saying there is a weight limit 1.5 miles down the road and no access to the A6. They can't all be going to and from the Disley paper mill.
Who is responsible for policing the above. Stockport, Cheshire East, or High Peak.
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I expect there are only two real solutions.
- Road pricing so people pay every time they drive anywhere
- Or improve the parking, timetable and cost of getting a train from Newmills AND Rebuilt the A6 in High Lane / Dislay so it becomes a free-flowing road, ideally making it a high-quality road from Whaley Bridge to the new road.
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just going back to the civic proposal which mimics poynton. Looks very nice with minimal cars!! Also block paving = sunk and uneven after 12 months!
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Well done to the Civic Society for having a vision of what Marple could look like and putting it out there to start a discussion. Otherwise as traffic grows, Stockport highway engineers will nick more and more space, and put up a forest of expensive traffic lights so that more cars can go faster. Forget Poynton (this is a rather odd scheme), there are hundreds of other main streets in Britain (mostly in the south of England), Germany and The Netherlands that have been changed so that both traffic can get through, but people shopping and visiting have a better experience. None of these places are 'anti-car'. They just realise that there is a different way of doing things that improves the quality of life for everyone, including motorists.
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When thinking about Poynton, remember they may be getting a bypass in a few years time, that will then make the twin roundabouts a lot more sensible. At that point, an enforced 20 mph zone may work well for Poynton as it would get most traffic to use the bypass.
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To begin with a qualify footpath from Asta with nice crossing points connecting to the current crossing on Stockport Rd would help. There is nothing nice about walking form Asta to Stockport Rd.
The current shopping centre (Market St) needs a revamp including making it nice and removing the steps at all the shop doors. I expect some of the other small shops in Marple should be converted into homes, so the empty units (and many charity shops) get transformed into shops worth going to. We have more empty shops then we need in Marple, so let's get all the interesting shops into the same area.
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The vision certainly has a simplistic elegance and I’m glad they’ve put it out there, if only to make any push from Stockport MBC to widen junctions or add more traffic lights look utterly ridiculous.
Although people complain about queues through Poynton, it has absolutely transformed that village space from a “road” to a defined “place”. That could psychologically divert some traffic itself from considering this just a through-route to race through.
It’s clear the short gap and short timing between the Hibbert Ln/Hollins Ln lights isn’t working these days. Two mini roundabouts wouldn’t magically make the traffic go away either, but could make it flow more continuously. It should definitely be looked into. It’d also remove the bizarre slalom by the swimming pool where you have to swerve across the road into parked cars after crossing the junction!
One thing I’ve disliked about Poynton as a pedestrian is the “free for all” of crossing the road. You’re meant to be able to step out wherever, which is a noble idea, but still scary in reality. This Marple idea looks better, then, that the crossing points are still very defined. But would the main Market Street crossing really work with people crossing continuously, not by lights? Even as someone who wants to see the balance addressed, we still need to allow for some movement of vehicles...
Likewise, in the larger version of the image are they seriously suggesting a bus stop in the carriageway? A lay-by is still surely required by the Hollins shops, though hopefully not as large as the current one, which is often just mostly taken up by lazy folk in private cars. (Why is this never policed?)
In fact, since the road is pretty much three lanes wide here, why not also finally provide a lay-by on the Trinity Street side with the stops staggered to use the available space? It’s the buses having to block the road as much as anything which make that area a nightmare.
Good first step though...
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Likewise, in the larger version of the image are they seriously suggesting a bus stop in the carriageway? A lay-by is still surely required by the Hollins shops, though hopefully not as large as the current one, which is often just mostly taken up by lazy folk in private cars. (Why is this never policed?)
Reminds me of a time I was waiting for the 358 to Hayfield. The layby was full so someone had decided to stop in the bus stop...
Now the 358 tends to have a few minutes rest when it gets to Marple. And the bus stop was full of a car that shouldn't be there. So what could the bus driver do other than stop in the middle of the road. For five minutes. I don't think the bus driver was very popular, but it was hardly his fault.
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Funnily enough, no-one parks in the bus stop on the Stockport-facing side. (Please don't anyone reading this do that to prove me wrong!)
That photo is just one idea of how to make Stockport Road more pleasant and to join places in Marple either side of the road. I know realise how unpleasant it is walking along Stockport Road where there are 3 lanes of traffic.
Marple is a nice place but could absolutely be made better.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. The problem is exacerbated by the "pattern" of the traffic and crossing lights on Stockport Road, between the Hollins and the Co-op!!!! And not helped by the idiots using the Church Lane/ Hibbert Lane junction, who don't know, or have forgotten, the procedure for negotiating traffic roundabouts.
And won't it be fun when the "Willows" housing development is fully occupied by families with one, two, and in some cases, three cars!
Rant off.