Tag Archives: Roads

Free parking for Warwick visitors

Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council are putting out the positive message that Warwick is open for business by offering free parking in the town centre at weekends.

Warwick town centre is currently undergoing improvements to High Street and Jury Street and as an act of goodwill to businesses and visitors the county council and district council are relaxing the rules to allow motorists to park for free on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three weekends.

From this Saturday (May 19), the county council will waive the charges for on-street parking and Warwick District Council will do the same for its off-street town centre car parks at West Gate, New Street, The Butts, Barrack Street, Linen Street, Priory Road, and Castle Lane. These measures will be in place on May 19 and 20, May 26 and 27, and June 2 and 3.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “We recognise that there has been disruption in Warwick while the town centre improvements have been carried out, and have decided to offer free parking as a gesture of goodwill. We hope this encourages shoppers to enjoy their time in the town and stay longer without having to worry about the cost.

“Warwick remains well and truly open for business and we thank everyone for their patience while these works are being carried out. Once completed, High Street and Jury Street will be much more user-friendly for pedestrians and have considerable long-term benefits for the town.”

Cllr Dave Shilton, Warwick District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood added, “We are well aware of the difficulties that drivers are experiencing in travelling in and out of Warwick town centre at the moment.  We hope that by offering free parking at seven of our car parks in the town, residents and visitors will be encouraged to continue with their usual visits into the town centre.”

During the improvement works, businesses have remained open as normal and traffic patterns have settled down after initial delays caused by the diversions.

The county council is continuing to endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that people bear with us while the work is completed.

For more information on the Warwick improvements visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/highstjuryst

Details on parking in Warwick district can be found at www.warwickdc.gov.uk/WDC/roads-parking-and-transport

Warwick works update

Warwickshire County Council is asking motorists to remain patient while work continues on making Warwick town centre more user-friendly for pedestrians.

A decision was taken on Wednesday to close The Butts northbound at short notice in a bid to ease rush-hour congestion in the town caused by diversions and high volumes of vehicles from returning schools, inclement weather and a road traffic accident.

The Butts will remain closed to northbound traffic until the end of next month to act as a pressure valve while the works continue in High Street and Jury Street. Businesses remain open as normal and it is anticipated that traffic patterns will settle down as motorists return to normal routes and adjust journey times.

The county council will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that people bear with us while the work is completed. The road closures and diversions will be continually under review.

For more information visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/highstjuryst

65% of vehicle fires caused by poor maintenance!

Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service are warning drivers to take more care over the maintenance of their vehicles after seeing an increase in calls to attend accidental vehicle fires.

From April 2011 to March 2012, firefighters were called to 58 vehicle fires in Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth, 38 of these were caused by a faulty fuel supply or an overheated engine. Whilst a number of these incidents can be attributed to people visiting or traveling through the county, residents still need to be aware of the dangers they face if their vehicle is not regularly maintained.

Station Commander for the Warwick District, Jon Dixon said:
“We are concerned that 65% of our accidental vehicle fires are caused by overheating and general maintenance issues. We know a lot of this is down to people trying to make savings in their budget, but cutting back on vehicle maintenance can often have severe consequences. Simple checks, such as making sure you have enough oil in the car before traveling long journeys or making sure that the vehicle is serviced regularly, can really make a difference to your safety.“

Portfolio Holder for Community Protection, Richard Hobbs said:
“The safety of residents or people visiting and traveling through the county is paramount to us. By highlighting the issue of accidental vehicle fires, we hope to make people more aware of the dangers they face if vehicles are not properly checked before traveling on long journeys.”

Jon continued; there are simple steps residents can take to help them stay safe on the roads. These include:
* Ensure that the tyre pressure on your vehicle is checked regularly.
* Do not smoke or use a mobile phone while driving
* Ensure you vehicle has an annual MOT and Service
* Check water/coolant (anti freeze in cold weather) and oil levels to prevent over-heating and engine failure.

For further information on fire safety please log onto www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue


New contract brings yearly £1m savings

Three neighbouring councils have joined together to sign a highways contract that it is hoped will bring joint savings of £1 million a year.

Solihull Council, Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council have undergone a procurement process that sees them jointly employ the contractor Balfour Beatty for their highways work.

  • The Councils have the ability to use the contract to provide:
  • •           routine and planned highways work eg. pot hole repairs, resurfacing, building new roads
  • •           street lighting
  • •           bridge maintenance
  • •           traffic projects, such as calming, zebra crossings, junction realignments
  • •           winter maintenance
  • •           drainage works

The contract will cover around 5,400km of roads, and create savings of £1m each year.

Councillor Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “The highways maintenance contract delivers one of our core services and its performance is incredibly important to residents and businesses.

“By agreeing a highways contract as three-way partnership, we will be able to deliver far better value for money to the taxpayer. As neighbours, it makes perfect sense for Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull to join up and deliver a more efficient service through collaborative working.”

Councillor Ted Richards, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways at Solihull Council said: “This partnership demonstrates how, by working together, local authorities can achieve the best possible services for their residents and at the same time, bring in savings to the council taxpayer.”

Coventry will also benefit by the extra skills available in bridge maintenance outlined in their works programme.

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, Cabinet Member for City Services at Coventry City Council, said: “It makes sense in the current climate for us to work together and, using our bulk buying power, to maximise on expenditure. Balfours will provide specialist and top-up services whilst working alongside our workforce.”

Terry Woodhouse, Managing Director, Balfour Beatty Living Places, added: “Balfour Beatty Living Places is delighted to be working with Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in this innovative, first of its kind contract. We are dedicated to delivering an effective, efficient, sustainable and customer focused highways service for the whole area.”

The agreement comes into effect in 2013, with the new contractor working from a base in each area.

Improvements for traffic hotspots

Major investment to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety in the region has been welcomed by three local authorities.

The implications of the announcement were discussed by councils – including Warwickshire County Council – at a summit meeting hosted in Northamptonshire last week.

The Government recently announced that more than £1 billion will be pumped into transport infrastructure nationwide, including the notorious traffic hotspots the M1/M6 Catthorpe Interchange and the A45/A46 Tollbar End.

The M1/M6 Catthorpe interchange scheme will improve the existing junction which suffers from considerable delays and accidents due to queuing traffic, especially at peak periods. It currently handles around 100,000 vehicles per day.

Around 90,000 vehicles use the A45/A46 Tollbar End roundabout every day – a significantly greater number than the existing junction’s design capacity. The resulting congestion means that motorists are enduring large queues going onto Tollbar End roundabout and subsequent long delays.

The main scheme objectives are to provide relief from this congestion, improve journey times and reduce driver frustration by improving the capacity of the Tollbar End roundabout, the A45 Stonebridge Highway and the Festival Island at Stivichall, benefitting both local and strategic road needs.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “We welcome the huge Government investment into these two major traffic junctions which are currently a source of much frustration for motorists travelling into and around Warwickshire.

“Once completed, both projects will deliver significant improvements on these busy sections of the network, such as removing bottlenecks and improving safety and road layout.

“It is clear that both the Catthorpe Interchange and Tollbar End roundabout are key commercial routes and they have been given priority by the Chancellor to support and further stimulate growth in the local economy.”

Cllr Jim Harker, Leader of Northamptonshire County Council, said: “I think it’s widely recognised that improvements are desperately needed on the A14 and that was why we hosted a high-profile summit to discuss the issue last week.

“We welcome any investment on the route and this latest announcement is very good news. However it’s important that all options for Catthorpe are considered and that a solution is found which fully maximises any investment.

“Going forward, we will be working with partners to explore solutions and where further funding can be accessed.”

Cllr Lesley Pendleton, Leicestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We welcome this investment from the Government which will assist in relieving congestion and help improve journey times for motorists.

“At Catthorpe it will mean that much needed work can be carried out to improve safety for drivers, improve the layout and help with the flow of traffic at what is a very busy junction.”

Work on the A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement is planned to begin on site in the next two years. The Highways Agency is currently working to confirm the specific programme.

Subject to the completion of statutory processes, the Catthorpe Interchange improvement is due to commence within three years and the Highways Agency is currently working to identify the most efficient start of work dates.

Work begins on town centre improvements

Work on making Warwick more user-friendly for pedestrians is to begin on Monday (March 12) for completion in early summer.

The scheme will see four new crossings installed in High Street and Jury Street to rebalance space between vehicles and people. It will make it more enjoyable to walk around the town centre and deter some of the 80 per cent of the drivers using town centre streets just to pass through, reducing the level of air pollution.

The existing number of car parking spaces will be retained but some will be moved to the opposite side of the streets to meet businesses’ needs, and to contribute to slowing down vehicles. Islands in the middle of four new raised paved crossings will do more towards this, making it easier for people on foot much to cross.

During the work all the town centre’s businesses will be open as usual, but temporary traffic lights and diversions will be in place. Drivers passing through the town centre will be advised to choose other routes, to minimise congestion.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “This is a hugely important scheme for the town which will reduce traffic speeds and make it easier and safer for pedestrians. We have ensured that the design of crossing features and the choice of materials is in-keeping with the very fine town setting.

“We will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that motorists and pedestrians bear with us while the work is carried out.”

Warwickshire County Council has spent many months talking to local residents and businesses, plus organisations including the Warwick Society and the Chamber of Trade, to identify ways in which High Street and Jury Street can be improved.

Walter Block from the Warwick Town Centre Forum said: “The joint Forum and Warwickshire County Council project team has worked closely with residents and businesses in round table meetings to achieve consensus on the measures now being implemented. We look forward to seeing the work completed, and the benefits that it will bring to the town centre and those who live here, work here and visit.”