Policy T5 - Park and ride

Park and ride just by the A127 tesco roundabout.
That will be interesting, NOT. That means more of our nice fields can be dug up and replaced with concreate.

LONDON SOUTHEND AIRPORT & ENVIRONS JOINT AREA ACTION PLAN - PREFERRED OPTIONS

Thank you for sending us a copy of the above document.

We provide bus services on routes 7,8 and 9 which either border or go through the area under consideration.

These services run up to a 10 or 12 minute frequency during the daytime six days a week.

It is vital that every opportunity is taken to maximise the opportunities for travel by modes having the least impact on the area and the general recognition of that is welcomed.

New and expanded business parks - north of the airport

There does not appear to be sufficient emphasis on access to the proposed areas of business development.

Neither Aviation Way nor Cherry Orchard Way has a local bus service. Currently the nearest bus service is the 9 which serves Eastwoodbury Lane. The replacement of that section of Eastwoodbury Lane across the end of the runway with a new road to a new junction with Nestuda Way will result in the 9 omitting the section of Eastwoodbury Lane between Aviation Way and Nestuda Way which means a new bus service will be needed to serve the business parks.

Bus access to the airport

Previous discussions have suggested that the airport would be served by a minor rerouting of services 7 and 8 (Southend - Rochford - Hockley - Rayleigh) through the area immediately to the east of the proposed station. This area appears to be no longer available and clarification is needed as to how bus services will be able to serve the airport and station.

Park & Ride off Nestuda Way

It is unclear from the document if this proposal is intended to be a Park & Ride facility for the airport alone or as a means of access to Southend town centre. There would appear to be an opportunity here, subject to capacity, to provide a much needed facility for the latter. In either case it is important that the route followed by the Park & Ride bus service is, as far as possible, free of delay by other road traffic both to make the service attractive and to minimise the cost of provision.




Diversion of Eastwoodbury Lane to new junction with Nestuda Way

This link is a much better option than closing Eastwoodbury Lane and we would divert Service 9 accordingly. This brings a potential benefit for improved access to RBS offices, the Tesco store and the North Crescent and Feeches Road areas. I would suggest it would be beneficial if bus stops and a suitable pedestrian link can be provided in each direction on the new link with a suitable pedestrian path provided close to the corner of the RBS car park.

I trust my comments are clear and if you need any clarification please contact me.

We object to this proposal because of the loss of recreational facilities.

I object to this. The infastrcuture around southend is terrible as it is.a park and ride facility is not going to ease the already dreadfull conjestion down the A127 A13 and the London raod

There is little point in creating a better link to the A127 when it will be the A127 itself causing the restriction to traffic flows.

The junctions at Cuckoo Corner Roundabout, Hoblythick Lane, Bridgewater Drive and Progress Road throttle flows along this corridor. Any additional traffic on this corridor will now just add to the length of the queuing and impact on the downstream junctions. This will cause right turning and entry blocking obstructions and spread congestion to feeder roads. The only engineering solution to improve flows will be to provide grade separated junctions but due to boundary constraints this is not possible.

SERT although commendable for trying will be vying for the same junction/road space as private transport and inevitably this will further constrain flows for other vehicles. To provide a separate SERT lane alongside the current traffic corridors will be prohibitively expensive due to the need to divert statutory undertakers services (very expensive and a co-ordination nightmare). There will also be heavy objections from frontagers due to loss of verge/trees and moving the road closer to housing. Maybe this is why SERT has yet to be realised, 4 years of talking and still no progress.

Park and Ride is only viable when the journey to the Airport is itself congested, the road off A127 will be relatively free flowing. A more inviting site for P&R will be Progress Road area. By the time drivers have travelled along the congested A127 onto Nestuda Way their journey will almost be complete so what is the incentive to then jump on P&R? Passengers will have to transfer to a bus (with bags) for a journey of what will now be only a few minutes. Look at Sandon P&R, it is out of town on the edge of congestion with very good bus priority to Chelmsford. This a good model for P&R (it has just expanded and is still full). A Nestuda Way P&R does not make sense in this respect. A site near to the edge of A127 Congestion with good bus priority is the most inviting model for passengers (however providing bus priority along the A127 is problematic and expensive in Southend, see my SERT comments above)

The Councils need to take a global view of the A127 / A13 corridors as these will on top of the Airport proposals increase traffic on these 2 roads (the only high volume roads in Southend). Proposed expansion of communities at Great Wakering, Shoebury and Thorpe Bay Golf course plus Garons, Garrison, Shoebury Park (adj to ASDA) and the new planning approach to provide denser developments in town is concentrating more people movements in the Southend/Rochford area. A high percentage of these new residents will want to move through the A13 / A127 corridor.

Our main corridors will only get worse. We need to get people out of private cars and into public transport (or work locally) BUT all these issues are interrelated and should be considered as a WHOLE and not as a wish list of headline grabbing schemes. Not easy and will need strong decisions from our Councils.

With regards to the movement of people (and goods) - the isolated, ring fenced, wish list approach being taken to Airport expansion will only add to the towns growing transport problems. This is what will stifle the much coveted growth in the end if not deal with.

How will this ease congestion on the already gridlocked A127 particularly during peak times.

All park and ride schemes in Southend have failed.

This proposal gives no details to suggest this one would succeed. In fact it gives far too little detail to even explain what areas it would serve and how it would operate!

This may well be a requirement to appease planners but let's be realistic. It's going to be a waste of money that no one will use. Sorry but I just dont think it is worth the cost. people wanting to travel that visit the town would get the train from the new station. Park and ride is a dead loss, green or otherwise.

Agree.

Any park and ride should be well outside the area close to the airport. To arrive at the park and ride it would be necessary to have approached via A127 which is already full to capacity.

This has been tried in other areas and has failed miserably

Transport links its no good just improving local infrastructure, how will the A13/A127 cope with greatly increased traffic and large container lorries. This is madness.

I feel let down already that work of some kind is in progress in the Southend Road location. It appears that a decision has been made by Rochford and Southend Councils already.

I strongly object to the expansion of Southend Airport and the changes that are associated with it. This list is a few of the reasons.
Increased pollution. Increased traffic on roads already congested. Increased noise 24 hours no guarantee to limits. Reduction in house values as can already be seen just with the expansion proposals. Increase in freight flights these planes won't be quieter than newer style passenger planes.

PARK AND RIDE - to where - the airport,business park, Southend. Most local people using the airport for flights will get a taxi.

Traffic concerns / property prices devaluation

Not enough infrastructure to gain access to the airport for 2 million passengers.
Exeter airport and Southampton airport both have motorway links.
Where is Southend's motorway. The expansion is flawed

I strongly object to the runway extension and associated developments. They will blight the lives of many residents in the area due to the increase in noise, pollution and traffic to provide very limited benefits.

I am certainy not in favour of tarmacing over an important piece of open land that could be used as a public open space. It would be better to include a multi storey car park in an industrial area that could be used for park and ride and or workers car park for the industrial area.

The Essex Chambers of Commerce strongly supports the proposed Policy T5.

The park and ride is a good idea especially if it goes by way of Southend Hospital.

The proposed airport extension would have an adverse effect on the local town. The area is simply too built up with local housing to support the extension. It is too late to try to extend the airport without ruining the quality of life of thousands of people.

T5:

A Park & Ride facility will be most attractive to many people, local, or otherwise and could prove to be very efficient. It should operate on the principal of charging for each car parked and not per passenger. The former charging structure is used by some of the most successful park & ride schemes in the country.
To charge per passenger can often negate any saving a family can make and then becomes a disincentive to using the bus.

object

I object

Not necessary in light of my other comments

Oblect because I object to the extension of the runway and the goal of 2mppa and all the polution it will bring.

Southend is an area which is already heavily built up. Where do the emergency landings take place? The air and noise pollution will be a total nightmare for existing residents. Where will all the traffic go? In 1966 the government refused the proposed expansion of runway 15/33 on environmental grounds - surely this argument is even stronger today - we are ALL aware of the environment problems surrounding this!

The need for urgent improvements to the A127 has been accepted for many years. An increase in airport traffic will result in deadlock for much of the day.

Using a Park and Ride facility in Nestuda Way should be used for the benefit of Southend as well as the airport. With little adaptation to the road layout, buses could take car occupants down Westbourne Grove to Chalkwell, along the sea front to the Kursaal, up to the Town and the bus station then up Victoria Avenue and back to Nestuda Way.

Strong objection. The A127 is already well know for it's daily jams and high accident rate, with the extra passenger and cargo traffic it will just not be able to cope at all. Add the extra time that will be taken by every A127 commuters together and it will far outweigh any possible financial gain from the airport. JAAP planners say their report only covers local area up to the A127, but they suggest that improvements to the A127 and a new route to the north east will be required but this is the Local Planning Authorities responsibility not theirs (they also say the same thing about noise, pollution and safety). For years and years we have been told nothing can be done to improve the A127 (due to surrounding structures) and the road to the north has been rejected so what can they do.

I object to the expansion of the airport and the extension of the runway, therefore I also object to this change