The Wharfage and the riverside landscape in the Ironbridge Gorge, is a place that could be so much more enjoyable, a street where people linger to enjoy the view, drink a coffee, amble along with family and friends, browsing in the windows of the shops. Is it like that at the moment? I’d suggest that, no, it’s not. Visitors have the option to almost do the above, but are hampered by so many factors. Firstly, there’s the volume and speed of the traffic, travelling down a narrow two-way road with conflict between traffic flows, parked cars, speed bumps and noisy, loose drain covers. Then you have the route pedestrians take between the car parks at Dale End and the Iron Bridge, a journey that involves the precarious negotiation of uneven and loose paving slabs, oncoming coach parties, pavements that disappear and mature trees that not only occupy most of the footway but also send out their roots to trip you up.
The Wharfage at one of its narrowest points. No pavement on the left and the one on the right mostly occupied by one of the trees.
So, I’ve been thinking. A lot. I’ve been thinking that there must be ways and means of minimising these issues and creating a riverside environment that encourages visitors to linger longer, spend more and want to come back again. We mustn’t forget that Ironbridge is a community that also belongs to the people that call it home and the businesses that trade there. Balancing the needs of both communities is crucial if any of my idea is to have an ounce of a chance of being implemented, whether partially or in its entirety. We also have to approach this topic with a sense of the environment of the Ironbridge Gorge itself, a fragile, active landscape that contains structures and landscapes that are historically important. I’ve mind-mapped my thoughts, looked at what’s been tried elsewhere, scoured maps old and new, spent too unhealthy lengths of time on Google Street View and put my dog through extended walks up and down the hilly roads around the Gorge. So I have a plan.
Previous plans to manage the traffic through the Gorge involved the extension of the existing 20mph zone, further up Dale Road, Madeley Bank, Waterloo Street and towards Buildwas. This would’ve been accompanied by new traffic calming infrastructure such as sleeping policemen, speed humps, pinch-points, chicanes and renewed signage. These proposals went some way towards making things better, but personally I think they needed to extend further up the hill towards Madeley, where vehicle speeds are significantly in excess of the limits and there are real issues for residents when it comes to finding safe on-street parking. However, this plan has been shelved by Telford & Wrekin council, despite popular support from residents.
I think we need a bigger, bolder and more ambitious plan. The scale of the issues is large and we need to consider a proportionate response. Tinkering around the edges, by extending a hardly unenforced speed limit will do nothing to positively change the nature of the Gorge as a whole. Spending money on re-profiling speed bumps just irritates people who see no benefit. We must look at how people move around the Gorge and along the riverside in particular. A plan is needed that convinces residents that their community is not being managed solely for the needs of visitors and that represents money well spent, generating tangible benefits – quality of life, environmental, financial and safety – for all. There are examples, both in the UK and elsewhere, of communities where bold ideas have been tried and I’ll refer to these where appropriate.
My idea centres on the principle of controlling access by motor vehicles to the Wharfage and the surrounding roads. This has been considered previously but has always been rejected due to the potential impacts on other fragile routes, resistance from the local community and the complexity of implementing such measures.
Quite simply, it’s time to dissuade unnecessary traffic through the Gorge by encouraging drivers to use existing alternative routes. Bluntly, if you’re not a resident or a trader or on public transport, there is no need for vehicles to pass along the Wharfage. I can hear the cries now from residents of Broseley and drivers that use the riverside as a shortcut to destinations further south and west. But think about it. Who pays for the upkeep, maintenance and repairs to the roads in the Gorge? It’s not residents of Broseley or Wenlock or Bridgnorth or Shifnal. That’s why the aptly named Ironbridge Bypass was built some years back with the purpose of transferring the weight of through traffic away from the fragile, restricted infrastructure of the Gorge. Travelling from Telford to Broseley, the signed route is through Madeley and down Madeley Bank, not along the Wharfage. Similarly, from the Leighton and Buildwas direction, the signed through route is along Buildwas Bank. As a World Heritage Site we must think about how we manage traffic flows to safeguard the setting of the Gorge and not jeopardise its status.
My original plan, devised after the 20mph consultation event.
Initially, my idea was triggered after visiting the consultation event for the extension of the 20mph zone. Looking at the plans, I came to the conclusion that more was required. So, I used the map produced by Telford & Wrekin Council to come with a plan for a tolled section of the Wharfage. At first, I thought this was a great idea. It would put people off just driving along the riverside. But, it would also push other traffic on to the roads above the river, namely Church Hill and Hodge Bower/Belmont Road. I looked at a similar schemes in Tenby and Durham, where the City Council had identified a controlled traffic zone, similarly a World Heritage Site, around the cathedral. When first installed, access to the zone was controlled by means of rising bollards adjacent to pay points.
Toll Point in the Durham City scheme
The Durham City controlled zone
Toll point in Durham showing the rising bollard system
My plan required three Toll Points, with rising bollards at either end of the Wharfage and one at the top of Lincoln Hill. This would mean that any vehicle driving along the Wharfage of traversing the Gorge along Church Hill and Hodge Bower would need to pass through a Toll Point. The only uncontrolled exit would be via Lincoln Hill, however this could be alleviated by making Lincoln Hill a one-way route (downhill) with no option of turning left from Church Hill and Hodge Bower. I thought this would work, but I then considered the infrastructure required. Toll points would be needed along already narrow and busy roads and the frequency and severity of flooding might make electrically operated bollards difficult. You’d need to plan for easy access for scheduled buses and the permitted traffic. However, bollards would make it easy to close the Wharfage when needed.
This idea rolled around in my mind for some time, things got in the way and life moved on. Most recently there’ve been reassuringly active conversations on the Ironbridge Gorge Community Facebook group page. There seems to be a a real enthusiasm and interest from the local community to make the Gorge a great place to live, work and visit. So I thought some more.
The Durham scheme has now changed. Following a number of vehicles being impaled, the previous system – rising bollards and physical toll points have been replaced with an electronic system, exploiting the merits of ANPR technology. Vehicles entering the previously defined limited traffic zone (LTZ) are now logged by an ANPR camera system, drivers are then required to make payment for entry to the LTZ at shops within the city or via mobile technology. Maybe this could work in the Gorge?
I think it could. Here’s my idea. Essentially, it’s an LTZ based on the same area of my earlier plan but one that’s controlled by ANPR cameras and integrated with an expanded 20mph zone. I’d suggest that this would be a great opportunity to define the purpose of the Wharfage and look seriously at the design and infrastructure of the road. Personally, I’d like to see wider pavements with more opportunity for safer more enjoyable pedestrian access, facilities for visitors to sit down and enjoy the views and features such as vehicle pinch points and protected crossings that switch the ownership of the local environment away from the motor vehicle.
My plan, point by point:
- Access to the LTZ would require a payment – I have no idea how much. Durham charge £2 for all vehicles.
- Payment could be made by mobile phone technology, by visiting a business within the LTZ and making a physical payment – businesses prepared to take payment would receive a commission. This would encourage vehicles that choose to pass through the LTZ to visit the shops and other businesses on the Wharfage. Accommodation and restaurant businesses within the LTZ could include payment of the charge within their prices.
- Residents, traders, emergency vehicles and public service vehicles/taxis would be exempt from any charge. A system to register residents’ vehicles already exists to manage the parking permit scheme.
- The shape of the LTZ would ensure that alternative routes (e.g. Hodge Bower and Church Hill – both within the LTZ) wouldn’t be used by through traffic.
- The timing of the LTZ being “active” could be varied according to traffic flows, visitor demand and events. Some areas where LTZs have been installed employ restrictions permanently, at peak points during the day or on different days of the week e.g. weekends and bank holidays. The system in Tenby is a good example of this.
- The scheme could be managed by the Gorge Parish Council – generating an income, creating employment and allowing any funds to be spent locally. If run by the local community for the benefit of the local community any initial hostility is more likely to be overcome.
- Visitors and through traffic wouldn’t be barred from driving through the LTZ – but those that choose to do so would contribute financially to the upkeep of the area.
- An alternative to travelling through the LTZ, and paying a charge, already exists in the shape of the Park & Ride service from Jiggers Bank. This is underused, but an LTZ may push drivers towards its use. Expansion of Park & Ride is also a possibility at the Power Station site. I would suggest that the charge for access to the LTZ should be greater than the Park & Ride. With time, the LTZ could subsidise the Park & Ride.
- Clear signing would be needed on the approaches to and boundaries of the LTZ. The digital signage on approaching routes could also be employed to forewarn drivers and explain their options.
- All existing, purpose-built car parking would be outside the proposed LTZ, with just a limited number of on street parking available within it. These spaces could be reserved for residents’ use and loading. Access to the Iron Bridge itself would be outside of the LTZ.
- By using ANPR cameras speed management could be implemented, whereby drivers’ average speed through the LTZ could be actively monitored. SPECS camera systems have now progressed from motorways to residential areas (Woodseaves in Staffordshire is a recent successful implementation) and I can see this being a way of dealing with the recurrent speeding problem that blights residents’ lives.
So, there you have it. My idea for a better Gorge. I’m sure that there will be many that think it’s an affront to their right to drive along the Wharfage and another example of unrealistic plans being proposed, again. But I really think that we need to do something big, bold and that reflects the needs and wants of both the local community and visitors to the Gorge. I’ll sit back now and wait for the comments…….
Lee's Shed of Ideas 