At the beginning of 2016, The County Council commissioned an audit of the use of the roads in Chichester with a view to improving traffic conditions and parking options. You can read it from the WGRA website here.
We have written to Marcus Davey, the WSCC Officer concerned, as part of the recent consultation, to say that:
- Westgate Residents are prepared to be far-sighted and support the general principles of ‘To, not through’ and ‘Link and place’.
- We support their aim to make Chichester a good place to visit and live in.
- We appreciate that there will be a need for a great deal more discussion before any changes are implemented, but are concerned that as far as our area is concerned there appear to be actual recommendations for alterations to Westgate, Avenue de Chartres and Via Ravenna, which was built to be a relief road for Westgate (see pages 74-76).
- We have been involved in lengthy discussion on behalf of the Westgate Residents’ Association (WGRA), particularly with Dominic Smith about the impact of traffic from the new development at Whitehouse Farm (see above), but the recommendations of the Chichester Space Audit have never been mentioned. The provisional plans involve spending money, and as far as traffic calming in Westgate itself is concerned, are not compatible with those ideas. We have concerns about their practicality too, given that Westgate is designated as a major pathway for pedestrians and cyclists from Tesco, Fishbourne and Whitehouse Farm, where it is essential to support a sustainable development. Even in the wider part of Westgate, wide pavements, a separate cycle path (this also being part of the South Coast Cycleway), perpendicular parking and a carriageway are going to be difficult to achieve.
- The WGRA has recently taken over the care of the large number of planters which currently form traffic calming ‘build- outs’ along Westgate and we are very concerned with the appearance and general ambiance of the street. The visual impact will not be improved by increased parking. The improvement in the City Centre must not be at the expense of the environment for residents.
We hope these comments will have been found helpful and have indicated that the WGRA would certainly like to be part of any future discussions!