Suffolk County Council has confirmed there are “no plans” to open a road behind a bus gate between Claydon and Whitton – but £380,000 has been made available to improve congestion.
The unnamed stretch of road between Old Norwich Road and Old Ipswich Road can legally only be used by cyclists and local buses.
However, Claydon parish councillor Steven Wells said that many motorists continue to use it.
“Some complain that people are using it, while some complain that they should be able to use it,” he explained.
“But the difficulty is, when people nip through, there are quite a few head-to-head near misses. People try to nip through, and are suddenly presented with a cyclist.
“It’s dangerous, and they can’t do it.”
However, he did feel that the issue of congestion in northwest Ipswich needed to be considered, given the number of new homes being built in the area.
He said: “My view is that there needs to be a large-scale review, and before Ipswich Borough Council fully commits to developing more land around Whitton, we need to look at the infrastructure and make sure we can get in and out of the town.”
The first homes of the 1,100 homes in the Henley Gate development between Henley Road and north of the East Suffolk railway line went on sale in July.
Suffolk County Councillor Paul West is the cabinet member for Ipswich operational highways and flooding.
Mr West said the council was aware of congestion in the area.
He said: “Claydon is one of the areas I have identified as a priority with officers in the council, and hopefully, the applying to the Department for Transport and to the police moving traffic offences under the power of the local authority will enable us to improve the situation.”
He also confirmed that £380,000 had been made available to improve the junction at the Bury Road end of Old Norwich Road.
He said: “This is money that has arisen as a result of the developments, as it is acknowledged that there will be an increased pressure on the junction.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council confirmed this, saying: “We are looking at options, to do more with the existing enforcement powers we have, to prevent the abuse of moving traffic restrictions, generally.
“The responsibility for enforcing these restrictions across Suffolk is currently with Suffolk police, not SCC. We will however liaise with Suffolk police, and share any traffic data we have on this specific location, to enable them to target the times with the highest levels of abuse.
“We are also looking to apply to the Department for Transport to take on some powers to enforce moving traffic offences.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here