PROTESTERS who are against the proposed waste incinerator being built in Westbury have highlighted the threat of increased traffic in the already congested A350 through Westbury.
Whilst holding weekly protests by the A350, the group has also been carrying out a traffic census to gather traffic figures now, saying that the volume of traffic will only get worse if lorries are driving to and from the proposed waste incinerator.
Gaynor Cromwell told White Horse News, “Counting cars, coaches, vans, motorbikes and huge lorries is starting to become bit of a habit. I find I’m continually complaining about the amount of traffic going through Westbury and how much worse it will be if the Westbury Incinerator is ever built.
“Along with friends, we made a start by counting vehicles on West End, Westbury. Not surprisingly, the second week’s figures are not so very different from the first week. Except that is for the addition of two seven- axle HGVs, which were enormous, and a not so enormous tuk tuk!
“Thankfully all vehicles travelled safely along the A350, even if they were slightly delayed by the good citizens of Westbury crossing the road [as part of the protest].
“The next challenge was the Westbury Industrial Estate. I wondered how many vehicles access the trading estate via the roundabout at the B3097 and the Link Road. So on Wednesday 14th July, we made ourselves comfortable in the glorious sunshine and started our nine-hour task of counting vehicles. At times the traffic was absolutely manic, but we still managed to record most of those vehicles coming and going.
“The average hourly number of vehicles joining or leaving the B3097 was nearly 800, just over 13 vehicles per minute. The peak numbers we recorded between 4.00pm and 6.00pm, when vehicle numbers approached 1,000 vehicles per hour, approximately 16.6 vehicles per minute. No wonder it looked so busy.
“Unfortunately, there was one small incident that caused the traffic to stop when two huge lorries, travelling in opposite directions, engaged wing mirrors and debris was scattered over the road. Thank you to the lorry drivers who stopped to clear the damage. Hardly surprising they made contact when you consider their only route to the industrial estate is down a B road, which in my opinion, isn’t fit for the amount of traffic it’s expected to carry.
“But we needn’t worry about the volume of traffic if the Incinerator is ever built. Apparently, there will only be an extra four HGVs an hour on the B3097! Let’s not forget the waste management facility that Hills already have planning permission for. Hills’ figures expect there to be an extra 76 vehicle movements per day into and out of their site. By my calculations that comes to a lot more than an extra four traffic movements per hour!
“I always knew lorry drivers kept this country going, but I didn’t appreciate how difficult and possibly frustrating their job is. They work long hours driving and when visiting a place like Westbury they have to negotiate roads that were never designed to carry such huge vehicles. Thank you for keeping our shops and factories open.
“I would also like to thank my friends, old and new, Roger Vercoe, Nadia Evans, Jenny Jones, Lynne Vercoe, Annette Laws and Barry Cromwell for helping with the count and recording all those vehicles. Also, the members of the public who showed their support by beeping their horn, waving and cheering as they passed our little group.
“If you are against the Westbury Incinerator being built, please don’t forget to send your objection as soon as possible to, The Rt. Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State, Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.”
Pictures: Counting cars at Westbury Industrial Estate.
