MP's traffic concerns

PRESSURE will grow to reopen South Street in Lewes to through traffic if plans for a major upgrade of the A27 between Lewes and Polegate go ahead.

That's the warning from local MP Norman Baker who is calling for Halcrow, the company undertaking the detailed work on A27 improvements, to publish an analysis of the effects of their proposals on feeder roads including the Cuilfail Tunnel.

Mr Baker voiced a warning this week about extra volumes. He said: 'It is now generally accepted that new and improved roads generate extra traffic that would not otherwise be there by encouraging people to travel further to work, by diverting traffic from other roads such as the M25, and by encouraging people off rail and on to road.

'A new A27 may knock off a minute or two at Beddingham, but it is likely to add on more than this for drivers wanting to access Lewes. The tunnel already sees big tailbacks in the morning, right back to the Southerham roundabout. Any increase can only make matters worse and, given the impossibility of increasing the capacity of the tunnel, will I fear lead to calls to reopen South Street for traffic entering Lewes.'

Mr Baker said people needed to realise that extra road capacity did not solve problems but merely moved them.

He added: 'When the Brighton bypass was opened, for example, there was an immediate 15% increase in traffic up the C7 from Newhaven through Rodmell and Kingston to access the A27, traffic which had previously used the South Coast Road.

'One person's road solution is simply another person's road problem. There was a similar increase in levels of traffic turning right through Rottingdean for the same reason.

'We have been trying to build our way out of traffic jams for 100 years now. When are we going to realise we can never win that race and start adopting alternative policies that would not only spare the environment further damage, but might even get people from A to B rather more quickly?'

Halcrow's proposals for the A27 are part of the South Coast Multi Modal transport study, which has the objective of improving travel along the coast from Kent to Hampshire.

Work recommended to the Department of Transport includes new motorway-style interchanges at Southerham and Beddingham, a flyover to replace the level crossing at Beddingham, a Selmeston bypass, and a new stretch of road linking Wilmington to the Polegate bypass.