Moving around Torbay – stuck in traffic or are we the traffic?
Most of us can appreciate that over the busy bank holiday weekends, school holidays and summer months it can take us longer to travel around Torbay.
We are currently a couple of weeks away from Easter and yet no matter what route we take, it seems we are faced with disruption to our journeys due to roadworks.
Across Torbay there is currently a mix of planned and emergency work taking place. Planned work is coordinated in advance, unfortunately though some work, such as emergency works are out of the Council’s control.
Some highways work is completed over a few days or weeks. Others such as our Strand public realm regeneration project takes many months and can see changes to how traffic flows throughout the different phases of the project.
The team dedicated to delivering the first of Torquay’s harbourside transformation projects, are working closely with businesses and transport providers to understand the impact the work is having on their trade. Where possible the team are making changes, trialling new solutions, considering ideas being put forward and thinking about longer-term options to support the area in the future once this £4million project is completed.
To support businesses and the visitor economy over the two-week Easter holiday (March 29 to April) 14, it has been confirmed that the four-way traffic lights that are currently in place at all junctions will be removed. Meaning the Strand will have two-
lanes of traffic (one in each direction), rather than the single shuttle lane that has been in place since the start of February.
After the Easter break, the single shuttle lane will be reinstated. What happens in May and over the summer months is still being worked out. The voices of the business community are being heard and listened to – especially when it comes to
the timing of the full road closure part of the project.
A road closure at some point to complete the works is unavoidable though. The closure won’t affect access to businesses and car parks so if you are travelling from the seafront, you’ll still be able to get to Fleet Walk car park. If you’re travelling from Babbacombe you’ll still be able to get to Harbour or Beacon Quay car parks.
It will just be the bit in the middle which you cannot travel through. This got me thinking, knowing that four-way lights are in operation, am I stuck in traffic, or am I the traffic? I wonder how many of us are still using the Strand to simply get from one end of town to the other. Could we help to reduce the queues, and perhaps take an alternative route if we’re not visiting the area for a specific purpose, such as going out for a meal, heading into the town centre to shop, or walking around the area to see the project take shape.
If you are planning to visit the area this weekend, Harbour (Terrace) car park reopens from March 14. Over 300 spaces are available, 24-hours a day, with access once again being via The Terrace / Torwood Street. As part of the redevelopment work, a lift has been installed that will take people from all car park levels down to street level.
The opening of the Harbour View Hotel isn’t too far away either, with the final finishing touches being made before the doors are officially opened to guests. Slowly but surely change is happening in Torbay.
The millions of pounds of government funding we’ve secured, combined with private sector investment, is truly going to make a difference to our town centres over the next few years. It's going to be challenging, disruptive and painful at times to us all.
I urge everyone to have patience, if opportunities arise to have your say – get involved and help shape plans, together we can create a place we can all be proud of.
