For several months now I have been contacted by people regarding the impact of the Grigg’s Quay cycleway scheme in Lelant on traffic congestion in the local area. Cornwall Council carried out alterations that resulted in traffic from St Ives direction being fed onto the A30 junction rather than using the road alongside the The Old Quay House Inn for those traveling to Hayle. People are supportive of the cycle path but feel the new one way road goes the wrong way!
Cllr Liz Penhaligon and I have been attempting to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible.
Those of you who know the area and use the road will notice that the council have now widened the road between the Wyevale Garden Centre and the A30(T) / A3074 junction in response to the many complaints that the council have received. I'm informed this work is completed. To minimise disruption to current traffic the work was carried out overnight. This work is an interim scheme to provide two lanes of traffic queuing at the A30(T) roundabout and was agreed at the meeting with the local Cornwall Councillors on Friday 8 July 2016 as being the most effective immediate response to improve traffic conditions during the school holidays.
It is accepted that this scheme is not the permanent solution and work will be undertaken over the summer to analyse the traffic data that has been collected and develop a series of schemes that form a long term solution to seasonal peak traffic congestion in Lelant.
The one-way system on Grigg’s Quay has not been reversed as has been requested by many. However, the council advise me that the work that has been carried out does not preclude any other options being considered as part of the longer term traffic solution for the Lelant area.
I'm told and I quote 'Cornwall Council and CORMAC are fully committed to collecting sufficient data to be able to objectively develop a long term transport solution for Lelant. Further traffic data in the Lelant area will be collected following the completion of the Nut Lane widening works to understand the impact the scheme has had on the area.'
Personally, I believe this whole saga has been handled appallingly by the council. The work that was carried out to provide the cycle path has caused significant congestion in Lelant and the council has been slow to respond to the concerns raised. I first raised a concern on April 19th and I know Cllr Liz Penhaligon has been persistent in raising this with officers. Many local residents have complained about the disruption caused by the change of layout.