Controversial shake-up of roads in Blackburn town centre

Furious shop-owners claim the move will ‘cripple’ trade and put visitors off the town.

But council bosses said the measures were needed to curb ‘rat running’ through the centre and Blackburn would become gridlocked if nothing was done.

Details of the scheme are contained in a report to be presented this evening to Blackburn with Darwen council’s ruling executive board.

Rather than driving through town, bosses said Traffic needed to be kept on the “orbital route” around town, which has still not been completed, with four “access loops” into car parks.

The scheme includes:

- The closure of Railway Road to all vehicles except buses;
- Reversing the direction of King Street to carry cars off the shopping centre car park;
- Preventing traffic from driving down Penny Street from Barbara Castle Way;
- Improvements to the junction of Higher and Lower Audley Street which will come under increasing strain as traffic is directed out of the town centre;
-Creating more town-centre bus routes, serving Blackburn College and the new health centre on Barbara Castle Way, as part of the planned £50million bus lane linking Blackburn, Darwen and Accrington.

Traffic orders are set to be made in the next two months, despite the future of a crucial section of the orbital route still being up in the air - a link road between the Wainwright Bridge and Montague Street is being held up by a row over a listed building.

Bosses said the changes were needed to cope with an expected increase in traffic resulting from the town-centre regeneration work, including the £70milion Cathedral Quarter masterplan for the boulevard, the new shopping centre and the health centre in Barbara Castle Way.

Tory regeneration chief Alan Cottam denied claims by opponents that motorists were being forced out of the town.

He said: “We are putting 2,400 new car parking spaces into the town centre.

"We recognise that the motor car is fundamentally the most important transport, but we have a duty to keep traffic moving.

“If we can keep the cars in the multi-storey car parks, we can keep the roads free for public transport. It will be a big improvement.”

Coun Cottam said the closure of Railway Road, which would be enforced by number plate cameras or automatic bollards, would only be closed once the other highways improvements had been completed.

He said all the changes would be advertised in advance to avoid confusion when they come into force.

But the proposals drew a stinging attack from Darwen Street jeweller Phil Ainsworth, of the town centre partnership board, who said: “The closure of Railway Road will be a disaster for this town.

"It is simply not feasible as things stand.

“Until we get confirmation that the link road will be built we should not be doing anything.

"They closed Northgate and it decimated that part of town, and it didn’t work at Sudell Cross. I can’t believe they are trying it again.

Chamber of Trade president David Cottam said: “The closure of Railway Road will be catastrophic, and we are dead set against it.

"Railway Road is a link between Penny Street and Darwen Street and otherwise people would have to go all the way around.

Luke Bosdet, a policy advisor for the AA, warned drivers who use satellite navigation systems to take note of new road signs.

Many drivers would not download updates reflecting the changes, he added.

>> NEW ROAD PLAN MAPPED OUT

>> Railway Road – The road will be closed to through traffic in an attempt to prevent “rat running”. Drivers will be able to drop off at Blackburn Railway Station, but not continue between the Darwen Street and Ainsworth Street areas. Rising bollards, or automatic number plate recognition, will be used to keep cars out, but allow buses through.

>> King Street/Feilden Street – The direction of traffic in King Street will be reversed, carrying shoppers off The Mall car park. Shoppers trying to get on to The Mall car park will need to drive up Mincing Lane, turn down King Street and then right into Cardwell Place.

>> Penny Street – Southbound cars will not be able to use Penny Street from Barbara Castle Way, which will be for buses only. Cars will be able to travel northbound up to Barbara Castle Way, but traffic flow is expected to be low because of the closure of Railway Road.

>> Higher Audley Street – Improvements are planned for the awkward four-way junction with Lower Audley Street, Bennington Street and Audley Range, which will come under increasing pressure as cars are directed out of town.

>> Freckleton Street to Montague Street Link Road – This vital section of road has still not been given the go-ahead, with lengthy delays caused by the planned demolition of a listed building.

Click on the thumbnail below to see a graphic of the proposed changes.