By John Baron
£20 million plans to tackle traffic congestion and bus delays at Dawsons Corner have been submitted to Leeds City Council planners for approval.
The junction is one of the most congested in Leeds and proposals include new bus lanes, new service roads, the widening of shared vehicle and pedestrian footways, improved cycle facilities and signalised pedestrian crossing facilities.
A design statement accompanying the planning application stated the aim is to reduce air pollution caused by standing traffic, and offer improved cycling and walking facilities. It said:
“The objective of the junction improvements is to relieve traffic congestion, bus delays and provide improvements for all users of the transport network corridors.
“Improvements to the pedestrian and cycleways will facilitate a tie-in with the Leeds-Bradford Cycle Superhighway. It is the aim that this will alleviate the connectivity challenges the city region faces, which is a factor associated with constrained grow within the new housing and employment sites in spatial priority areas.”
The report notes there are currently no dedicated bus provisions through the junction.
The proposals in detail:
A647 Bradford Road: Proposals include bus lanes in both directions to give priority to eastbound buses. A new service road would be built to maintain access to properties on Bradford Road next to the junction. The A647 Bradford Road would be subject to a 40mph speed limit.
A6120 Ring Road: The carriageway would be widened to the east of the existing road to accommodate an additional lane on the approaches to and from the proposed junction. The existing footway located to the west of the A6120 Ring Road would be widened to accommodate a shared pedestrian / cycle footway. The A6120 Ring Road would be subject to a 40mph speed limit.
B6157 Bradford Road: The eastbound carriageway would be widened to the north in order to improve the junction layout. The B6157 Bradford Road would be subject to a 30 mph speed limit.
A647 Ring Road: The southbound carriageways would be widened in both verges in order to accommodate three additional lanes to the proposed junction. Works would be undertaken on the carriageway above Wood Nook Tunnel in order to accommodate the proposed footway. The A647 Ring Road would be subject to the national speed limit up to 70 mph).
The scheme includes segregated bus lanes in order to give priority to buses. Up to four extra bus stops will be provided.
Two off-site planting areas will be provided to compensate for losses of biodiversity habitats and the required level of tree replanting.
Works also include lighting, landscaping and sustainable drainage systems.
The plans can be read in full – and commented upon – here. If plans are approved it’s hoped work will start later this year.
Bus Lanes and Cycle Lanes cause more congestion for the every day car commuters. Standing traffic causes more pollution. Keep the cars moving. Stop the meddling with the roads to save 10 minutes for buses/ and adding 20 mins for cars. Cars are here for the long term. They are becoming more efficient and less polluting. Electric and hybrid are top sellers. I suggest the bus companies invest in electric, as the smoke that comes out of some of the older buses chokes me. The highways money needs to be used for resurfacing all the roads, not just filling in a pot hole, that appears again a few weeks later. The quality of the tarmac these days seems to be be so thin and poor quality. Do the job right once with quality resurfacing,, raising drains, man hole cover etc where needed. That way the extra cost may be covered by less claims for damage.
The condition of the roads in Leeds are dangerous. The bodges for pot holes often leave the surface just as bad has the pot holes especially for vulnerable road users. The proliferation of traffic, restrictions, stupid so called traffic calming increases congestion. Cycle lanes are vastly underused, with one near where I live has weeds growing in it. I’ve never seen a cyclist in it, yet a filter road was removed to put this in. This created a tailback in busy periods causing more pollution. Speed limits are being reduced all around Leeds, which are often ridiculously slow, again increasing pollution as vehicles forced into lower gears.
Let’s hope it’s more of a success than the disaster that the council have created on stanningley road with the new bus lane