Scheme aims to reduce congestion in busy London Road
Aconsultation on a multi-million pound scheme to cut congestion and improve journey time reliability along one of High Wycombe’s busiest routes, starts today (Friday 14 June).
The planned improvements on the A40 London Road will stretch from the Abbey Way junction by High Wycombe’s law courts to the M40 junction 3 roundabout at Loudwater.
Important to the £6.64 million scheme are improvements to five junctions and approaches along the three mile stretch of London Road.
And it is about these that residents, commuters and other road users will be asked for their feedback through a four-week online consultation atwww.buckscc.gov.uk/haveyoursaywhich ends on Friday 12 July.
People can find our more about the scheme at a drop-in exhibition in Wycombe District Council offices on Thursday 20 June from 2pm to 8pm and information will be available at Wycombe Librarythroughout the consultation until 12 July.
Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member, said London Road was an important route that attracted a high volume of traffic, which caused congestion and delay at peak times.
Engineers plan to tackle this through introducing new and updated technology to control traffic, widen the road in some places, create dedicated spaces for right-hand turning traffic, improve pedestrian crossings, relocate bus stops, introduce real-time travel information, and move some lengths of bus lanes to where they will be most effective.
“None of us likes to sit in traffic jams, unsure about when we’ll arrive,” said Mark. “The aim of this scheme is to improve the reliability of journey times by reducing congestion and delay. That’s got to be good for residents, businesses and travellers alike.
The scheme harnesses the latest technology to enhance the co-ordination of traffic light sequencing to ease congestion. It also makes better use of the road capacity, said Mark.
Pedestrian crossings will be upgraded with new and more efficient equipment,cameras will monitor traffic flowssothatadjustments can be made to traffic control, and variable message signs will provide drivers with up to date information in the event of incidents, such as M40 closures, crashes or broken down vehicles.
The scheme, he said, would support economic growth and better job opportunities, as well as improve air quality.
The scheme has been funded with £2.51 million from the Local Transport Board, and £4.13 million from a successful bid to the National Productivity Investment Fund.
Details of the improvements are on www.buckscc.gov.uk/A40LondonRoad