Wiltshire Council has made a decision on which junction improvements to the Exeter Street roundabout will be submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT).

Between June 17 and July 18, the council held a public consultation on the proposals to improve the three junctions at Exeter Street Roundabout, Harnham Gyratory and Park Wall Junction.

At Exeter Street, the council offered two potential options for people to give their views on.

Option 1 would mean that motor vehicles would exit and enter the junction as they do in the existing layout, while Option 2 would involve a new arm next to the cathedral wall and it would require the removal of up to three trees.

After considering the responses to the consultation, the council has decided not to include Option 2 in its submission to the Department for Transport (DfT), and it will proceed with Option 1, to be submitted in December.

The council will also look into the need or otherwise for a signal-controlled pedestrian and cycling crossing of Churchill Way South.

A report on the findings of the consultation will be presented to the area board.

Wiltshire Council will provide an update on its Salisbury junction improvements scheme to the next Salisbury Area Board meeting, on Thursday (September 30), at 6pm.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We’re preparing an outline business case for the Salisbury junction improvements project, and the responses we received to the consultation will help to shape that – which is why we’ve listened to local residents and chosen Option 1 at Exeter Street.

“We know we can’t resolve all of Salisbury’s traffic problems with this scheme, but we can make a difference to the roads that we are responsible for, and that is why we’re planning to make these changes to improve capacity at the junctions for motorists, while also making them safer for cyclists and walkers. We’ll also continue to work with National Highways, which manages the A36, to improve the flow of traffic in and around the city.

“We received a total of 1,214 comments on different aspects of the scheme, with 290 people and organisations taking the time to complete the online questionnaire and a further 67 people sending us emails with their comments.

“We’re now undertaking further traffic modelling and economic assessments to ensure the outline business case, which will be submitted to DfT in December, is as robust as it can be.

"We’ll also be holding further consultation on the scheme as it progresses.”

Cllr for Harnham West, Annie Riddle, added: "It's great to see that Wiltshire councillor Mark McClelland has listened to public protests and announced the scrapping  of Option 2 of the junction improvements and that Wiltshire Council are looking again at the daft idea of a pedestrian crossing over the dual carriageway alongside Exeter Street roundabout.

"Cllr Ian Tomes and I have been working with residents on this, and are delighted that Wiltshire’s leaders have seen how unfair it was to keep people in limbo when their homes would have been blighted by this scheme."

 

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