£1.5m bid to solve Keighley traffic problems (From Keighley News)

£1.5m bid to solve Keighley traffic problems

3:00pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in Keighley By Miran Rahman

Provisional approval has been given to put £1.2 million of funding towards a Bradford Council scheme to combat congestion in central Keighley.

Members of the authority’s executive agreed on Tuesday to allocate the remaining £1.168 million from funds provided by the former Regional Transport Board. But councillors said other potential sources of funding should also be considered.

The £1.5 million project involves creating a one-way system along the triangle formed by East Parade, Hanover Street and Cavendish Street. If all goes according to plan, the scheme could be completed as early as the end of March 2014.

The same idea has previously been recommended by Keighley Town Council, as well as by a body it established in late 2008 called the Traffic Advisory Panel.

Airedale Shopping Centre manager and Keighley Town Centre Association chairman, Steve Seymour, cautiously welcomed the plan, but emphasised it would not be sufficient by itself to solve the problem.

“We need to do something – Keighley does have a congestion problem,” he said. “This is a positive step forward, but we must avoid the mistakes made in other towns and cities.

“We need to take all the businesses into consideration. Making Cavendish Street one-way could change the dynamic of passing trade. Bearing in mind the size of the town, it’s a very complex issue, but no one is shirking their responsibilities to make sure we get the right solution, rather than just throwing money at it.”

Keighley town councillor Graham Mitchell, chairman of the watch and transport committee, has already spoken in support of the one-way system.

“If we can keep the traffic moving through the town centre, that would help matters – even if it moves slowly,” he said.

“Everyone who uses the town says traffic conditions are dreadful. What we see now, especially on Friday afternoons or at Saturday lunchtime, is a long tailback of vehicles from Bradford Road near Asda, along Cavendish Street and all the way up North Street and Skipton Road.”

He said that in order to be implemented, the one-way initiative would require new signage and modified traffic lights, and may also require removal of the raised surfaces in Hanover Street.