Comments sent to Devon County Council on 23 Mar 2003 following the public exhibition of the Tower Hill/Chapel Hill/Madiera Walk proposals:

Town to Sea Front Proposals – Observations and an Alternative Approach

Having seen the exhibition this weekend I support the principle of improving the route from the Magnolia Centre through to the sea front. I am also strongly in favour of making it easier and more pleasant for people to walk around our town. Whilst I would be happy to seeing pedestrians and cyclists sharing the use of Tower Hill, I fear that the carriageway is too narrow for this to take place without inconveniencing pedestrians. I have therefore proposed that cyclists should be excluded.

My main worries about the plan are concerned with the proposals for the Chapel Hill section which, if implemented, would jeopardise the suggestions being made for the creation of a “piazza” style Strand. If this is to be achieved, alternative routes must be found to re-route traffic around the town. One of these options, and I believe it to be a strong one, is to route traffic up High Street, across Chapel Hill and down Alexandra Terrace where through traffic would turn left along Imperial Road. This route would become one way, simplifying traffic flows, and making it easier for pedestrians to cross because traffic would be moving in the same direction. Traffic from the sea front would also turn left into Imperial Road as, with the Strand closed to traffic, there would be no need for traffic to progress any further up Alexandra Terrace.

The present plans for the Chapel Hill area make this option impractical by introducing a “kink” at the top of High Street and routing pedestrians around the top of Chapel Hill.

People emerging from the top of Tower Hill should able to cross from there into the attractive Manor Gardens, away from the traffic, emerging eventually at a crossing opposite Bath Road. The crossing from the top of Tower Hill to the Manor Gardens should be safe because, once the Strand is pedestrianised, the only traffic approaching this new crossing would be the small number of vehicles arriving from St. Andrews Road.

I believe that this new proposal provides a number of benefits over the pedestrian route around the upper side of Chapel Hill:

• There are fewer roads to cross.
• It does not prevent High Street to Alexandra Terrace from becoming a one-way system.
• It does not remove any options when considering the Strand “piazza” concept, in fact it resolves some of the issues that may arise.
• It takes visitors through the attractive Manor gardens, one of the town’s showpieces.
• It routes them past the conveniences at the entrance to the Manor Gardens.
• It exits the Gardens adjacent to the Tourist Information Office which many holidaymakers may wish to visit.
• It takes visitors towards the, soon to be erected, bandstand replacement.
• It separates pedestrians from traffic, useful for holidaymakers with children.
• It merges the pedestrian routes from Tower Hill and Manchester Street.
• It provides plenty of space for a cycle route around the lower side of Chapel Hill that could eventually linking Bath Road through the Strand to the new Exe cycle route.

These proposals should be considerable cheaper to implement than the present planned pedestrian route for the Chapel Hill area. The route would be more attractive and the changes to the road layout at Chapel hill would be less significant. Most importantly this plan does not burn any bridges that we may wish to cross when developing our vision for the “piazza” Strand.

Geoff Morris – 23 March 2003

Click here for the response from Devon County Council