So what exactly do we need?
A bypass please!
Quite simply we need relief from the traffic issues we have now and that we expect to get worse in the future.
Build a bypass
Our long term objective is that traffic through the village should be reduced to such an extent that our road is only being used as a "C" road A Classified Unnumbered road that will be of lower significance than a B road and be of
primarily local importance
Regardless of how this is dressed up, the fact is we have a road which clearly can only cope with local traffic and it's being used predominantly by though traffic. This has got to be addressed for all the reasons we have covered elsewhere on this website.
This isn't just for the benefit of the good residents of Cold Ashby. It's for the benefit of everyone that gets stuck trying to get through the village.
It's for the benefit of all those businesses and development areas and local authorities that need people to be able to get to them easily in order that they, and more importantly their development schemes, can be as successful as they intended.
Whilst this website is called "bypasscoldashbynow" and for all we know this might be the best way of achieving our objective, under no circumstances are we discounting the possibility that there may be some other way in which this can be achieved. However, in order for it to be achieved the problem needs to be properly acknowledged by those with the ability to do something about it and action taken to find a solution . CAPEG will do all it can to make sure this happens as quickly as possible.
Notwithstanding our long term objective, CAPEG are realistic enough to accept that whatever is done to help us realise it, it's not going to happen overnight and that as such, we need to work on improving things in the short term.
Quick Fix Interim Solutions
Quick fix solutions
Our Short Term Objectives are to reduce the impact of traffic right now so that even though our "C" road often feels like an "A" road, we have done everything possible to ensure we've made it as safe as we can:
- A 20 MPH speed limit is needed in Cold Ashby. If expected to put up with the quantity of traffic we are, more needs to be done to ensure that it sticks to the speed limit.
- Better signage on the A14 and M1. If the official route to the South or East is along the M6 to junction 1 and back again then signage on the M1 and A14 should clearly instruct this.
- Better signage on the A5199 and the A428. It needs to be displayed far more prominently that HGV's are not permitted to use Cold Ashby as a through route.
- Better signage in the village. Drivers must be dissuaded from using Church Lane as a short cut.
- Better enforcement. We totally understand that all local authorities are under immense financial pressure at the moment and that they don't have the resources necessary to do everything we would like, but the rules of the road need to be better enforced through Cold Ashby especially if it’s expected to support the current level of traffic whilst we are waiting for a long term solution. Simply put if our roads are to be used at a level way beyond their official categorisation then they should be allocated the same level of resources necessary to maintain and police higher categorisation roads. In particular a more regular visit from the mobile speed camera van is needed so that regular commuters know that there is every chance it will be there rather than not. We also need to know that when we report overweight trucks there will be a concerted effort to follow up on them and operators warned accordingly.
Reduce the speed limit...
This would dissuade most drivers from exceeding 30 mph and meaning those that do could end up in a higher penalty bracket!
Better Signage....
Whether its ensuring that overweight traffic doesn't come into our zone or traffic on the M1 and A14 uses the official route East and South better signage could make a real difference for limited cost.