NOTTINGHAM | The Transport Thread (Exc The Tram)

[MattN]

No, it used to run over Lady Bay Bridge (it's only been a road bridge for 30 years or so) then through West Bridgford, you've got the Eastcroft train depot and incinerator in the way plus a few houses in West Bridgford. Part of it around Tollerton and Old Dalby was a test track until recently, think they tested the WCML Pendolino sets on it. Even if it could be re-opened, I'm not sure if it would actually be any quicker. I doubt those services sirstan mentioned were non-stop either but I don't know this.

[Pete JC83]

Most of the line through West Bridgford is gone, it does suddenly appear south of Edwalton and i believe it's still a test-track. It was for the above mentioned trains and now it's used for a new style London Underground train they're working on.

[WillPS]

Overground actually - the 172, a new version of the Turbostars (the nice new trains Central Trains bought in the 90s which have all ended up in the West Midlands).

[PerfectDark]

Well we all knew this was coming.

A453 improvements at risk as Nottingham City Council leader says funding 'unlikely' Council leader Jon Collins

THE leader of Nottingham City Council has said it is 'not likely' that funding will be granted to dual the A453.

The new coalition government is reviewing all spending commitments including the A453, the Nottingham tram phases two and three, and improvements to Nottingham Station.

But Labour Coun Jon Collins, leader of the city council, has said the £168m project to improve the A453 is the most under threat.

"This is now a risky business," he said. "It's pretty clear that the funding for the A453 has been suspended and is likely not to go ahead from the kind of comments we hear."


And Coun Jane Urquhart, portfolio holder for transport, later said the A453 scheme was more likely to fall by the wayside than the other projects because it relies predominantly on one source of government funding – whereas the other schemes have funding from multiple partners.

Work was expected to start on the £168m project in the autumn.

The council leader, who is a member of Emda and vice-chair of regional decision-making body the East Midlands Leaders' Board, said advice from council officers and other professionals – including at Emda – has led him to believe the A453 scheme could be axed.

All parties at Nottingham City Council have agreed to now lobby the Government.

Notts County Council is also lobbying the Government to save the project. But its portfolio holder of transport and highways, Conservative Coun Richard Jackson, said they have not received any advice to suggest the A453 is more at risk than other projects.

Steve Calvert, service director for planning sustainability and regeneration at Notts County Council, argued that the A453 project is a 'robust case' and said that he remains optimistic.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/ne...l/article.html

[pharmj]

This is not good news. The economics of this project stack up so overwealmingly that it makes financial sense to build it as well, particularly with that housing being considered for Clifton. Then again, we are going to have to get used to this. The previous government's debt and spending was a scandel, seems we don't have an endless pot after all

[djfusion777]

Dualling the A453? Pah! The planners of 1970 would have laughed at such a small fry scheme when compared with what they had planned for the city centre:



The "Sheriffs Way" was to be a full blown 2x3 motorway, running underneath the ice stadium and offices. How they could even think of running a new road through the Park is beyond me.

[Stefan88]

Thank god that didn't happen. We'd be in a similar situation to what Coventry is in now i.e major loop road around the city centre preventing it from expanding.

[MattN]

I have been looking for those plans for donkeys years! Thank you!

To be fair, there hasn't been much sign of the need or demand for city centre expansion beyond or even to where those roads would have gone. What would have been a shame is the wanton destruction in the Park, General Cemetery, the Arboretum area of Radford and Mansfield Road.

[Bingethink]

Wow! I'd heard about motorway through the Park, but it looks here like it's a double decker - one lane on top of the other!! And look at that flyover/overhead junction planned for Waverley Street!! And the underpass on Mansfield Road!!!

We may well have our fair shore of shit buildings form the 60s and early 70s, but we certainly escaped the worst excesses of the 60's road planners. Compared to say, Leicester or Leeds our city is far more permeable and pedestrian-friendly.

[danz013]

Lol woow! Thats crazy!

[PerfectDark]

How much traffic were they expecting? I guess they were trying to build it for the next 200 years or something.

One thing I like about Nottingham that you can't really say about Derby is that there aren't any major roads coming right into the city. Maid Marrion way and Huntington street is about as major as it gets and they are both easily crossable now.

[MattN]

I don't suppose you could tell us where you got that plan from could you djfusion77? And whether or not you've found any plans for the roads that extend beyond that map?

Nottingham seemed to have some pretty large-scale plans in terms of urban motorway or expressway, but it must be part of quite a rare breed in having implemented none of them (concerning the city centre at least).

[djfusion777]

Originally Posted by MattN

I don't suppose you could tell us where you got that plan from could you djfusion77? And whether or not you've found any plans for the roads that extend beyond that map?

I got it off the SABRE forum (The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts)

www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/

Searched high and low for proposed Nottingham road scheme maps like this one, unfortunately there are none of the wider city area showing the roads that would have connected to this scheme. I dare say there are some maps in County/City archives somewhere, would love to find them!

I personally think they should have built a faster, high quality road from J26 to canning circus, particularly the section that crosses Western Boulevard to the city, passing through Radford. It could have been like Western Boulevard, a dual carriageway with a 40mph speed limit perhaps, because it's still a bit of a bind getting into the city centre this way (particularly at rush hour), and this is arguably one of the best ways into the city. Large swathes of Radford where cleared in the 60's anyway, so no great treasures would have been lost, nor would urban fabric necessarily have to have been destroyed.

A quality inner city road network can be a double edged sword though. As has been said, our city centre is probably better for being relatively unscathed by planners, but consequently it's not the easiest to (drive) in and out of. A good motorway link is a fair trade off I'd say, the only problem being that it would dump lots of traffic into the city as more would commute by car, rather like Bristol.

[MattN]

I am actually a member of that website, I do recall seeing some sort of plans for the bit around Huntingdon Street but nothing as comprehensive as what you posted, perhaps my memory is playing tricks. It would probably be worth a look in the archives, one of those things you have to get round to I suppose. I really ought to get round to it myself , go down on the bike on a nice day.

[Ranwolf]

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/ne...l/article.html

Nottingham's £67m train station revamp "at risk" due to cuts - From the Post

Is anyone surprised? Terrible news, like the tram extension, one can only hope that the project can be saved, having come so far (unlike the road widening).

[Mark76]

Just like our super bus hub and, no doubt, the proposed redevelopment of London Road station.

I have a feeling this is going to be a bad few years for regeneration projects.

[Recuerdo]

Considering the plans for Phase Two of the NET network are in the advanced stages (or so I can gather - at least in comparison to the A453 improvements) then surely it would be an ideal compromise to approve the tram extension at the expense of the A453 (as opposed to shelving them both).

Phase Two is due to create a park-and-ride around the Clifton area, so in the absence of a dual carriageway from J24 into the city centre it would alleviate some of the congestion on the current road infrastructure until the economic climate improves to the point where we can afford the improvements.

Or so goes the theory.

(Hi, by the way. I've been lurking for a while, but only just got 'round to making an entrance)

[PerfectDark]

The problem is that the A453 already has two lanes from Clifton onwards, and though the rat race into and out of town is still pure hell between Clifton and the City, it's a different issue.

[Hugo Chav]

Originally Posted by Ranwolf

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/ne...l/article.html

Nottingham's £67m train station revamp "at risk" due to cuts - From the Post

Is anyone surprised? Terrible news, like the tram extension, one can only hope that the project can be saved, having come so far (unlike the road widening).

I think that without the tram, this comes undone as well, the existing facility works well enough and I rather like the existing platform structures and covered bridge (suspect its rather knackered though) it is well served by busses and also cycles, depending were you approach from. Its probably more limited by the rail services to and from than the station architecture.

for me the part of the transport infrastructure that should be addressed is the 453 through Clifton. and at the junction with the M1. and the safely of the junctions between Clifton and the power station. could all be done in smaller projects, the difficult part is through Clifton which is unsafe, polluting and frustrating.
If anything can be salvaged from the cuts it is this section of that road. No question.

[xcatherinex]

The A453 is such a pain in the arse! I drive along it on a regular basis and HATE it with a passion! I only had a tiny car, but still feel way too close to the other lane, especially when huge lorries are thundering down it. It needs to be duelled so badly, so it's a shame that it isn't going to happen any time soon.

Train station I can take or leave due to the fact that I very rarely, if ever, use it. However, it does give people a really bad first impression of the city. For a big city, the station is tiny with nothing going for it whatsoever. The whole building and station could be stunning, with so many original features but they just seem lost in the crap that we have now. It is really disappointing to hear that the project might be stalled though. Brings a massive downer onto the city.