An inconvenience to you
New road scheme could inconvenience you and endanger your children
Wakefield Council is proposing a new road scheme in the St John’s area. Traffic into town will travel down Leeds Road/Northgate, while traffic out of town will travel along Wentworth Street/Bradford Road. Both roads will have one bus lane and one lane for other traffic.
What will this mean for you?
At best, you’ll have to take a less-direct route home, taking you more time and petrol.
At worst, the roads that run between Leeds Road and Bradford Road will be turned into rat runs as drivers try to get round the restrictions. St John’s North will be one way from Northgate to Wentworth Street; Wentworth Terrace and tiny Andrew Street will be one way in the opposite direction.
Belgravia Road will be open to two-way traffic.
Belgravia Road at school time is an accident waiting to happen. Cars park on both sides of the road. At the same time, drivers disregard the “No Entry Except for Access” signs to cut through from Leeds Road to Bradford Road and vice versa. It can only be a matter of time before a child steps out from between two parked cars and is hit by another car. Will it be your child? For the safety of the schoolchildren, Belgravia Road needs less through traffic, not more.
Why does the council want this scheme?
- They believe that it will improve the flow of traffic – by reducing the number of lanes available in each direction.
- They feel that the new layout will be needed to handle the increased traffic caused by the new shopping centre at Trinity Walk – but have not shown that the new development will have any impact on the number of visitors to Wakefield.
But they have to ask us, don’t they?
The council proposed a consultation in July and August. So far, we’ve seen nothing of this. St John’s residents only found out about the scheme because our local councillors were concerned enough to leaflet us.
If a consultation takes place in July and August, by the time you park here after the summer holidays it will be over.
Contact your local councillors, Elizabeth Rhodes, Keith Rhodes and Margaret Isherwood, at the Town Hall. Don’t accept what you’ve just read: find out what the council proposes and make your voice heard.