At a Somerset Council meeting on Wednesday 17th December, more than 100 members of the public came along to support my petition calling for Salmon Parade and East Quay to be returned to two way traffic, with parking reinstated on Salmon Parade. The strength of feeling in the room was hard to ignore.
These roads have long been key routes for people living, working, and shopping in Bridgwater. Since they were changed to one way, traffic has become worse, not better. Drivers are now forced onto longer detours, congestion has increased on surrounding roads, and everyday journeys have become slower and more frustrating.
The petition, signed by more than 5,800 residents, was presented by local business owner Vanda Crow of Alise and Louie. We also heard powerful contributions from Mandy Maskell of Posh Recycled in Eastover Indoor Shopping Centre and from local resident Liz Browne. Mandy spoke plainly about the damage being done to small businesses, with falling footfall, lost trade, and parking removed without proper consultation. She said some businesses have already closed, and others are struggling to survive.
During the debate, I made clear that this one way system simply does not work for Bridgwater. The longer routes now being imposed are pushing more traffic onto the Cross Rifles roundabout. This is particularly concerning given that a £7 million upgrade to that roundabout, that was previously highlighted as a mitigation for the additional traffic from the one way road layout, has since been cancelled.
I explained that the road layout affects real people in real ways. It affects small business owners seeing fewer customers, pensioners and disabled residents paying more for taxi journeys into town, learners spending half their driving lessons stuck in queues, carers missing home visits, and families facing longer school runs.
A motion was then brought forward by another Councillor (Redman) that originally called for these roads to be returned to their original state, in the same spirit as the petition.
However, he then chose to water it down to a vague commitment to a review, with no guarantees, and it'll take some 4 months. That means residents and businesses are left enduring months more disruption, despite making their views clear.
I voted against that watered down motion, along with my Conservative colleagues, because it did not do what over 5,800 residents explicitly asked for. The petition called for two way traffic to be reinstated on Salmon Parade and East Quay, and for parking to be restored on Salmon Parade.
The strength of feeling from Bridgwater residents was heard loud and clear. I will continue to put forward the case on behalf of residents and businesses until these roads are returned to the way they were.
