the proposed new layout for the roundabout at Civic Drive as part of Travel Ipswich.

Ipswich: Road change timescale outlined

By Paul Geater Thursday, September 13, 2012
6:28 PM

DETAILS of the major roadworks that should transform the town centre over the next year have been outlined by the county council.

Work on the £21 million Travel Ipswich project began in the summer with changes to the Portman Road/Handford Road junction – but the most major work is due to start later this month.

The Civic Drive roundabout is being converted into a junction controlled by traffic lights.

Work starts on September 24 – on which day most of the underpasses will be closed before being filled in.

Work on the junction is due to continue until April next year – although it will be suspended between late November and early January to ease disruption over the Christmas period.

Once National Grid Gas have completed their repair work on Fore Street, the road will be finished as part of the scheme – that work is due to be completed by October 5.

Another major element of the scheme is to redevelop the town’s two bus stations.

The Old Cattle Market bus station is due to be remodelled between March and May next year – Dogs Head Street and Silent Street are to have minor work before then – and the Tower Ramparts station is to be refurbished between May and August next year.

Work on Grimwade Street should be completed by the middle of October – and landscaping work on Princes Street between Civic Drive and the railway station will be undertaken between October and January aimed at making this more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists.

Between February and April next year Majors Corner and Mulberry Corner will be remodelled.

Lower Brook Street will become a one-way street southbound early next year and there will also be a new one-way system introduced in part of Museum Street in March.

Princes Street, between Friars Street and the Corn Exchange, and Queen Street will be pedestrianised between September and November next year.

Travel Ipswich Project manager Clive Wilkinson said the work would be timed to cause as little disruption as possible – the Civic Drive roundabout project was organised so traffic would continue to be able to use it.

He said: “That will be done between 9am and 4.30pm to try to minimise disruption at peak times, but there will be some impact on traffic.”

For details on how the work is going and when changes are happening, visit the special website www.travelipswich.co.uk

Will Travel Ipswich be good for the town? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail starletters@archant.co.uk

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24 comments

Oh great, more poxy traffic lights. Does the council actually know anything else? The put traffic lights anywhere and everywhere. Take Kesgrave, for example - when the lights are out of action the traffic flows like a dream until the next time the lights are switched back on. Waterworks street for example can take up to 3 minutes to change from red to green even though there is no traffic on the road apart from myself. I actually turn off my engine to save petrol because I know I'm going to be waiting there for so long. The traffic moving potential and capacity of the road is killed by these traffic lights, it's not even like they respond to what the traffic is doing they just follow the timings they were programmed with, which don't work. Is it that much more expensive to fit traffic sensors to these?? There should be a survey on IpswichStar to find out whether people think this roundabout works well already then you would see just how people feel about the change. These roadworks are a menace, police cars and other emergency services have been trapped unable to respond to calls because the town is so gridlocked. Like others have said Ipswich could benefit from £20m spent elsewhere where there is an actual need rather than creating slower moving traffic. They should hire actors to drive constantly around the roundabout to block it up if they don't want cars in Ipswich it would be a darn sight cheaper. The motive behind making it more cyclist friendly is ridiculous, since the 1908 with the invention of the model T Ford cars have grown in popularity, deal with it, cars aren't going to go away. These traffic lights will mean people will have to wear pollution masks when they visit the town, good job - way to give a generation of people asthma and respiratory complaints. Cyclists in Ipswich are a menace, they cycle through red lights, hop up onto pedestrian walkways when it suits them and pedestrian crossings, cycle in the dark without lights, ride with 2 people on one bike at once and cycle the wrong way up one-way streets. This is not to mention the number of near misses with pedestrians as they completely flout the highway code. In stead of trying to encourage more of them you should be ordering the police to start issuing pixed penalty notices for £30 for offenders to protect the public from their wrecklessness. With any luck Ipswich will soon become redundant with the business park at Martlesham Heath increasing in size. Then all of these problems and the Ipswich high street will become a distant memory.

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IpswichResident

Sunday, September 16, 2012
Come on Ipswich Star - support the feelings of the localc community & help fight this vandalisation of Ipswich, & ongoing persecution of drivers.

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Edward Kay

Sunday, September 16, 2012
Come on Ipswich Star - support the feelings of the localc community & help fight this vandalisation of Ipswich, & ongoing persecution of drivers.

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Edward Kay

Sunday, September 16, 2012
This is about as much use as rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

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bigger niche

Sunday, September 16, 2012
I use this round about several times a day and have no problems at all! Star get us a poll going so someone takes notice.. these roadworks are total madness!

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AReason

Saturday, September 15, 2012
Do any of these planners actually drive in Ipswich?

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Edward Kay

Saturday, September 15, 2012
So the plan is to abandon the modern planning view that traffic lights cause more delays - especially in the case of Ipswich where they are within 200m of a roundabout. Having carefully (and hopefully with an open mind) read the plans, this is a disgusting and shameless way to spend close to £20m. The planners should be ashamed. I also notice that the purpose of the plan is to reduce car use - this is clearly through a plan that is designed to make Ipswich such an unbearable place to drive that drivers go elsewhere (the councils of Colchester and Norwich must be delighted seeing these plans). All I can see happening as a result is that the town centre will become increasingly ignored in favour of out of town facilities, like Futura Park. Fit for the 21st Century - don't make me laugh.

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Edward Kay

Saturday, September 15, 2012
Ludicrous !! The biggest worry here is that these people are called 'Town Planners' & paid a vast salary to Strangle the town Why don't they change the Town's name from 'Ipswich' to 'NCP'? Can't they spend this 'tax payers' money to BENEFIT the town & small business owners - it seems they are trying to destroy Good Old Ipswich! Yes - I agree with a previous comment - lets have a Campaign to stop this - support would be overwhelming!!

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Amy

Saturday, September 15, 2012
A sad day for Ipswich indeed. They actually need to turn things the other way round by replacing the traffic lights that currently clog the town up night and day (St Margaret's Green is a prime example and further field the traffic lights in Woodbridge and now the Copdock A12A14 junction) and replace them with roundabouts. I simply cannot see how this will do anything but make things worse.

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Mike Rotch

Friday, September 14, 2012
What an absolute waste of OUR money!!...Who are these idiots who make these decisions, seems like we might as well close the town centre and all go to Norwich or Colchester to do our shopping, its less hassel than trying to run the guantlet of more and more traffic lights!!...ask anybody who uses the roads, mini roundabout are a far better way of moving traffic than traffic lights....Has Suffolk CC or Ipswich BC gone completely mad?

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keith hawes

Friday, September 14, 2012
TRAVEL IPSWICH PROJECT , WHAT OVER PAID IDIOT THOUGHT THAT NAME UP ,, SHOULD HAVE CALLED IT ( DESTROY IPSWICH PROJECT ),, STILL WE'LL HAVE OUR OWEN LITTLE TOWN UP AT THE SOUTH-EAST END SOON WITH ALL THE BIG NAME STORES , JUST GOING TO MAKE MY PROPERTY MORE VALUABLE WITH ALL OF THIS ON MY DOOR STEP,

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MIGUEL100

Friday, September 14, 2012
Ooh lovely, I like cycling into town once a year. Will be nice to wave at all the traffic in a standstill going the wrong direction up a one way street whilst admiring the pretty flowers and trees that have been planted that will require seasonal maintenance. If it wasnt for this country being so rich and productive at the moment I would wonder where the money was coming from. This work should encourage visitors to ipswich in their droves from other parts of east anglia on their cycles also, perhaps a cycle maintenance area could be provided on entry to and leaving the cycle zone? Manned 24 hours a day no less with refreshments and high energy snacks to ensure that both of them are kept happy, pay as you go cycle panniers could be rented out also to prevent you from having to bring your own. Just a few extra chicken brained ideas to add which could be justified for only a few extra Millions if you budget tightly.

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Johnsons

Friday, September 14, 2012
Idiots – come on Star start a campaign to get this stopped. Why are they removing the only roundabout in Ipswich that copes in rush hour to replace it with traffic lights that are inefficient for traffic flow? They wonder why we have fewer shops in the town centre and big brand stores are building on the outskirts of Ipswich instead.

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FredFlintstone

Friday, September 14, 2012
21 million scheme! seems a lot of money to waste could go to the hospitals or something worthwhile rather than causing more congestion! more lights lovely !! i guess the council tax payer will have to cough up more next year for this too.. norwich roadbramford road could do with a makeover it is a discrace !

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rumbler

Friday, September 14, 2012
What the Hell is wrong with these decision makers. Since when has there ever been a problem with traffic at this roundabout. The roundabout that needs this is the one at Civic Drive St. Mathews Street and every one knows it.. I have a feeling it has more to do with cosmetics than practicality.

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chris

Friday, September 14, 2012
This is insane!! This roundabout works fine, the traffic flows here and pedestrians can get where they need without having to stand around by the side of the road. Ipswich is overrun with traffic lights that cause unnessesary waiting and more frustration for drivers. WHY is this happening....have those involved actually spoken to any members of the public or is this one of those fantastic ideas to waste a shed load of money? what a joke!

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bunny 2shoes

Friday, September 14, 2012
I drive through this roundabout very frequently and have never found it a problem... If it ain't broke don't fix it... And certainly don't make taxpayers pay to fix it...

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bettycoltrane

Thursday, September 13, 2012
The County Council has run out of ideas. It is spending £21M of our money to remove perfectly good roundabouts and add yet more traffic lights which will only serve to clog up our streets yet more. By preferring cyclists over car users the the county council has proven once and for all that it is not only anti-car but also anti-business. Just to make the congestion worse, it is not just moving roundabouts but filling our available road space with yet more pointless cycle lanes for the select minority whilst those of us who wish to drive through our home town are prevented doing so. They have also signed the death warrant for our town centre by cutting off access and making it impossible to shop in town. I can't carry all my shopping on a bike, so I will just use Norwich instead or use internet shopping. We must be rid of these councillors, and tell them to take their pathetic transport planners with them.

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Fat Lady Sings

Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Civic Drive roundabout is fine as it is. leave it alone! More traffic lights only make things worse.

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Mike R

Thursday, September 13, 2012
Yet more traffic lights to impede the motorist of the rural county we are. Maybe if they were to re open the park and ride on the west of town this would easy traffic for motorists come to town from the west! After all there is more of the county to the west of town than to the south and east and they still have there park and rides???

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Chris Davey

Thursday, September 13, 2012
What an absolute disaster. The Civic Drive roundabout works very well and has for years - there is rarely a queue. Traffic lights, on the other hand, cause queues even in light traffic conditions. That's a well-known fact even Suffolk Comedy Council must be aware of. Ask any Ipswich taxi driver the quickest way between two points in the town and he'll tell you, the one with the fewest traffic lights. What are they thinking of? I'm really starting to think this town is run by a conspiracy of shopkeepers from Norwich. They're the only ones that will benefit.

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PC Plod

Thursday, September 13, 2012
Starting the work on the Civic Drive roundabout before the gas main and other works to the East of the town centre are completed is madness. Getting into the car parks to the South of the town centre currently involves various detours and for us coming from North East of the town its currently easiest to head west and come in to town down Civic Drive, but not for much longer by the sound if it! We will have to go back to tackling all the congestion on Key Street and Star Lane caused by various other road and building works. I don't agree at all with the daft idea of traffic lights at Civic Drive in the first place, that's one of the junctions in town that rarely has any queues in my experience, but I am resigned to it happening now, but please not yet. finish the other works before you start that.. Of course as a car user (and essential car user) why on earth should I expect any consideration whatsoever from our local Council.

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mmm

Thursday, September 13, 2012
I totally agree Matt. Traffic lights that just cause more chaos and leave loads of standing traffic and frustrated drivers. I wonder why no one shops in Ipswich!!!!!! Next thing they will be moaning about the electricity they cost to operate!!!!!!

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Julie M

Thursday, September 13, 2012
Yay, just what the town needs.... more traffic lights. At least they will have to fill in that monstor pothole that is a major hazard to motorcyclists.

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Matt Mckenzie

Thursday, September 13, 2012

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