Faced with constant opposition from the public the developers have revised their access plans for the development. They propose constructing a new southern access road before new houses are occupied. They propose that Station Road and Rossland Crescent will provide vehicular access to the station car park (former ROF car park), Sachel Court and to certain communal facilities within the development. Station Road, Rossland Crescent and Newton Road will provide pedestrian access to the new development.
There is no guarantee that the access roads will not be used for vehicular access to the whole development in the future as the Director of Planning has insisted that this is the only way that the two communities can be integrated.
Each of the three proposed access roads is substandard and totally unsuitable as an access road to the ROF site e.g. they are not DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant, but let us look at one road in detail so that we can confirm this.
Station Road
Station road runs from Greenock Road to the ROF factory passing under a narrow railway bridge. One of our BAG team has kindly photographed sections of Station Road to illustrate that this road does not have the capacity for extra vehicles nor is it a safe option. To view enlarged pictures, click on each of the pictures.
The Bridge
This picture shows the section of road which passes under the rail bridge There is no pavement and there is no room to add a pavement as the bridge is too narrow. This section of the road is currently used by pedestrians, wheelchair users and pram/buggy users to access both sides of the rail line. It is unacceptable and unsafe to have pedestrians and vehicles using the same space. BAE/Redrow suggested a possible solution might be to install traffic flow control (i.e. traffic lights). This would cause chaos with traffic backed up on either side of the bridge, while the lights went through three phases(one for pedestrians and two for traffic travelling in each direction).
The Junctions
This picture was taken at the Gledstane Road junction. This section of the road is a traffic nightmare for pedestrians and drivers alike. The picture shows the 4 junctions/entrances which converge on Station Road (Gledstane Road junction, access road to station/Poplar Avenue junction, Bank/Post Office car park entrance and station car park entrance) It can be very difficult for pedestrians to cross this section of road (especially at peak times as they have to look in six different directions.) To add more traffic to this road would not be a safe decision.
The Congestion
The following pictures show how congested the road can be. The whole road might just come to a standstill at peak times when cars might be heading up towards the ROF site and would meet traffic exiting the station car park. If you add in traffic flow control, this is a recipe for disaster.
The Flooding
The bridge underpass is prone to flooding as it lies at the bottom of a steep hill. This picture demonstrates both the flooding problem and the height restriction.
Problems associated with Station Road
For the benefit of the traffic consultants, roads engineers and planners we have listed below some of the problems associated with Station Road:
There is currently no pavement on road as it approaches and passes under the rail bridge.
There is not enough room for a DDA compliant pavement and single carriageway in the underpassi.e. there is no safe pedestrian route.
This underpass provides access to both rail lines for those who use wheelchairs, those who are unable to climb bridge and those who use prams/buggies
There is a stairway from the station which has direct access onto road leading to underpass
There is a restriction on the height of vehicles- therefore high-sided buses, delivery vehicles and refuse lorries would not be able to use this road.
Given that some vehicles can only pass under the bridge by passing under the central arch of bridge, single deck buses would probably have to drive up on pavement to get safely through underpass.
This is a single carriageway road at the bridge restricting flow of traffic
The bridge is situated at the bottom of a hill and so the underpass is prone to flooding
The "multi" junction at Gledstane Road/Station Road makes this road unsafe. Adding more traffic would exacerbate the problem
Traffic Flow control is not an acceptable option and could bring the road to a stand still at peak times
