The Duke Street work is controversial
Residents angry over junction work
By PAUL GEATER, local government correspondent
Thursday, August 12, 2010
9:08 AM
IPSWICH: Residents’ anger over changes to a town centre junction threatened to boil over at a heated meeting with county council staff.
About 70 people turned out to the meeting last night in the University Campus Suffolk building on the Waterfront to discuss the work currently underway at the Duke Street junction with Fore Hamlet.
County council cabinet member Guy McGregor and engineer David Watson were there to explain the changes to the road.
Many residents felt that the county had “jumped the gun” by going ahead with the work before all the orders changing the traffic flows along Duke Street and Back Hamlet had been agreed.
Resident and businesswoman Mitzi Read said: “How on earth can you be going ahead with this work when you only advertised the traffic orders in July and the consultation period has not ended yet.
“How can the work you are doing possibly be legal.”
Mr McGregor said the traffic orders were not necessary to undertake the major work – turning the Duke Street roundabout into a traffic light-controlled junction.
But he conceded they were needed to prevent traffic coming down Back Hamlet and expected the orders to be confirmed by the county council in September.
He said: “The funding for this scheme was made available by the previous government and we had to act very quickly which is why the orders have only recently been advertised.”
The initial work was being undertaken under emergency orders which he was expecting to be made permanent in September.
Peter Goodwin of Titchmarsh and Goodwin, in Back Hamlet, told the meeting he had struggled to find anyone in favour of the work among local residents.
He said: “Why could the roundabout not just have been left. We didn’t need the £3.2 million from the previous government to create this mess.” This comment provoked a round of applause from those at the meeting.
Mr Watson said in his experience people were often opposed to changes to road systems before they started and during the construction phase – but soon got used to them and accepted them.
He said: “In a year’s time we may all be asking what all the fuss was about.”
Will the Duke Street work make travel in Ipswich better? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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13 comments
The point some people just like to sit and criticise everything everyone else does, ever (but can't take criticism themselves I notice!). The Councils (and police!) in our town get criticised for everything they do, and also get criticised when they don't do anything. The fact is you can't please all the people all the time and the only people that don't get criticised are those who never do anything. There are plenty of people evidenced here who support the works. Frankly I'm not bothered either way as I don't drive and I'm plenty happy to walk or use public transport. If you think you could do a better job why don't you try working for the council? or is it easier to just sit and moan about the people who do? I am sure you could do a better job but let's face it... you don't.
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Sarah Ipswich
Friday, August 13, 2010
Would the money not have been better spent creating an over pass for the students, the traffic would then not have to stop so often creating unwanted fumes?
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C Smith
Friday, August 13, 2010
what is the problem, i live in Fore hamlet, where most of the work is taking place!!!!! it may be a pain at the minute, but i think in the end it will resolve all of the traffic issues which have been ongoing for years. it has to get worse before it gts better
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chriscree
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Actually, driving in from east Ipswich has been easier the last few weeks. No more having to queue to give way to traffic coming down Back Hamlet. Bring it on!
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C Dersley
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sarah Ipswich..BOTH IBC & Suffolk County Council are bereft of any ideas regarding the infrastructure of traffic in this town, so are as bad as each other!..It is simple for you to come up with a crass statement such as .."get off your lazy backsides and walk to work and you'll never have any traffic issues! "..but there is more to it than that, a point which you obviously cannot understand!..
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Paul Assirati
Thursday, August 12, 2010
As I read this story it appears Back Hamlet has been blocked without the necessary order. I am not sure how this works with roads but with Rights of Way which are also classed as highways I take the council to the Magistrates Court using Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980. turtill@gmail.com
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Peter Turtill
Thursday, August 12, 2010
I love how the article clearly reads COUNTY council and everyone still blames Ipswich BOROUGH council. Two different entities people! If you are going to sling mud at least aim it at the right people. Everyone moans that the traffic is bad and then they moan when they try and do something about it. Here's an idea.... get off your lazy backsides and walk to work and you'll never have any traffic issues!
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Sarah Ipswich
Thursday, August 12, 2010
And its also nice to see that the council wheeled out another Councillor who doesn't even live in Ipswich to justify the lunacy of the planning team... get the local councillor to attend the public meeting and explain this mess, not someone from Eye who is not directly affected by this nonsense!
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Fat Lady Sings
Thursday, August 12, 2010
At the very least they could have opened up the dock route so Duke Street could be avoided. Those living in Back Hamlet are suffering the consequences of having UCS plonked across a main route. All the work around the dock is a complete disaster and some kind of Public Inquiry should be held into the way this town has been run. Something is seriously wrong at IBC. turtill@gmail.com
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Peter Turtill
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Oh lighten up! Why does everyone always have to moan...it doesn't take a genius to realise that the road system around the docks was not the best...they have decided to take out an unnecessary roundabout to make the road nice and straight, a simple and effective solution. Yes it's a bit busier than normal there at the moment, yes your car might get a little bit dirtier now that theres a digger present, yes it might mess up your daily routine slightly but it's really not worth complaining about when you know it'll be great in the end. Good work!
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Craig
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Classic quotes from those at IBC who are already clueless about the traffic infrastructure (or lack of it) in this town..Can't wait for the next development a little further down with the one way system being "sorted" out!
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Paul Assirati
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Planners have created an enormous mess which no-one asked for, no-one supports and to add insult to injury they are wasting our money to do it. Their answer to every issue relating to traffic in Ipswich is to throw another set of traffic lights at it.... another set of lights to stop and slow traffic even further. They are responsible for the fact it takes over an hour to get from one side of town to the other most mornings... sack them and start again!
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Fat Lady Sings
Thursday, August 12, 2010
"Mr Watson said in his experience people were often opposed to changes to road systems... but soon got used to them and accepted them" Classic!!! They know by then they're stuck with them. The Conservatives campaigned at by elections that if they got into power in Ipswich they would take away the unnecessary (Labour-introduced) traffic lights at Dale Hall Lane - we're all waiting for that to happen. In yer dreams - I know this is Ipswich but do they think we are all stupid enough to blindly accept such trivial comment?
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Sarky Sage
Thursday, August 12, 2010