By John Baron
£20 million plans to slash peak-time traffic congestion and bus delays at Dawsons Corner have been given the green light by council planners.
The four-way 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 planning officer’s report approving the application said: “In sustainability terms, the key objective of the project is that the junction improvements will 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.”
A planning statement attached to the application said the road’s current layout, “does not provide adequate capacity for existing traffic” and that “consequently congestion frequently occurs on the approaches” to Dawson’s Corner.
In approving the proposals this week, planning officers agreed a raft of 20 conditions, including no construction traffic using Owlcotes Lane in Pudsey to avoid affecting any areas of potential archaeological importance in the Owlcotes Medieval Village.
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 scheme received funding from the Government in last month’s budget announcement.
The plans can be read in full here.
Let’s hope it works this scheme not like the disaster of the stanningley road bus corridor which has made the traffic situation worse than before, constant gridlock