A £11.7 million scheme of major road improvements at Townside area in Poole, funded through Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership secured growth deal investment, starts on Monday 8 October 2018.
These improvements support the future expansion of the Port of Poole, as well as the redevelopment of sites along West Street and West Quay Road creating new homes, leisure opportunities and a vibrant economy for local people.”
The Townside scheme covers the area between Hunger Hill and Poole Bridge, including West Street and West Quay Road and involves the reconfiguration of the Hunger Hill junction to improve its efficiency as well as the provision of more direct and safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. The direction of traffic on West Street (towards the bridges only) and West Quay Road (towards Hunger Hill only) will also change.
Prior to the main works starting, two bans on turns will be in place from 3 October to enable preparatory works on the Hunger Hill roundabout to be carried out. These are:
- a left hand turn ban for all vehicles from Hunger Hill roundabout to West Quay Road
• a right hand turn ban for all vehicles from Hunger Hill roundabout to Towngate Bridge
It is anticipated that the main works will take around nine months to complete. During this time works will be carried out on one arm of the junction at a time.
The majority of traffic lanes will remain open during peak hours, with no full road closures taking place on the main routes. In addition, the last two weeks before Christmas will be treated as ‘peak hours’ all day, every day.
In order to speed up delivery of the works, further reduce impact on traffic and ensure safety of the workforce and travelling public, the contractor will carry out certain activities overnight. Noisy activities will be kept to a minimum during night working. Local residents and businesses will be advised in advance of the night working taking place.
This is a major infrastructure project and despite all our efforts some disruption is likely. Throughout the works motorists are advised to plan ahead, use alternative forms of transport where possible and allow more time for their journeys.
Residents and local businesses can attend a drop-in session at the RNLI College in West Quay Road anytime between 3pm and 7pm on Tuesday 25 September and Thursday 27 September. Council Officers will be on hand to explain the improvements and answer questions. Mildren Construction will also be holding a Meet the Contractor public event at the RNLI College on Wednesday 3 October between 3pm and 7pm and local people are invited to come along to hear about the works in more detail.
Julian McLaughlin, Head of Growth and Infrastructure, Borough of Poole, said: “We appreciate these works will inevitably cause some unavoidable disruption to road users and we have taken every opportunity to minimise the impact this will have on people.
“Where possible we would encourage drivers to start thinking about the steps they can take including allowing extra time for their journeys or using alternative routes. We apologise for any inconvenience these improvement works may cause.”
Possible steps to help ease the impact on drivers include:
- Starting your journey earlier or later than usual to avoid peak rush hour
- Considering car sharing. You can find your car share partner with carsharedorset.com, a free website linking drivers
- Using alternative means of travel such as walking and cycling
Wider improvements in the Townside area will continue until 2020 and will involve the completion of the links for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users from Hunger Hill to Poole Bridge. Improvements to public spaces to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors to the area will also take place during this time. These works will be based on the feedback received from residents during last year’s detailed public consultation.
Cllr Ian Potter, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Transportation, Borough of Poole, said: “The Council has ambitious plans to revitalise the centre of Poole and this multi million pound investment in the town’s infrastructure is a significant step towards helping us achieve this vision.”
Lorna Carver, Director Dorset LEP said: “The Port of Poole and surrounding area is a key growth priority for Dorset. The start of these works marks the final and largest phase of this major programme into improving access into and around the port. Unfortunately, due to the large scale of these infrastructure improvements we regret that there will be some disruption for commuters and we ask people to please plan ahead and review the information available. This really is an exciting development for the town which stands to benefit massively from this multi-million pound investment through the provision of thousands of new jobs and homes, improved public spaces, and safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.”
To keep up to date on the progress of these improvements you can visit poole.gov.uk/Townside, subscribe to receive the regular Travel and roads e-newsletter by clicking on the ‘email me’ sign up button at poole.gov.uk or follow Borough of Poole on Facebook and Twitter (#Townside, #WestQuayRoad and #WestStreet).