High Street car ban signs will finally be installed this week

5:43pm Monday 4th March 2013 in News

High Street car ban signs will finally be installed this week High Street car ban signs will finally be installed this week

SIGNS warning motorists they may be banned from using Colchester High Street will be installed by the end of the week.

Officers from Essex County Council will put up the notices just over a week before an 18-month trial begins on Sunday, March 17.

Currently, the top of the High Street has a sign publicising the Colchester Half Marathon, due to take place on the same day, but nothing else.

Comments(30)

SOMETHING2SAY says...
6:21pm Mon 4 Mar 13

the council have had more schemes and half baked ideas than i care to remember..STOP wasting our money...and sort it once and for all......and that goes for the market too...fat cats = ZERO !!

Report this post »

Simon Taylor says...
7:03pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Look at all that unnecessary traffic.

Report this post »

mirokou says...
7:55pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Close it to all traffic, let it become open to market stalls, restaurants , bars,open space and enjoy and be done with it.

Report this post »

wellnow says...
7:57pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Such a silly mistake, by a silly administration. Why not stop all vehicles and use the time to clear the high street of all those stupid bays etc.

Report this post »

Reginald47 says...
10:53pm Mon 4 Mar 13

If you stopped all traffic where would the buses go?

Report this post »

Boris says...
11:45pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Ban only cars, let commercial delivery vehicles through, to keep the shops alive. Cars are the main problem.

Report this post »

James 1 says...
6:09am Tue 5 Mar 13

As a matter of interest, who is going to "police" this.
Parking attendants do not ,to the best of my knowledge, have to authority to stop moving traffic and I cannot see Essex Police employing officers to stand at the corner of Head Street between 11 and 6
Secondly banned traffic going up the right side of Head Street, how is it going to attain the left hand lane to go down North Hill. There is an island in the way. I envisage utter pandemonium

Report this post »

blue bird says...
7:20am Tue 5 Mar 13

I would like to know how much money this ban will cost us to close the high street. You say about the shops in town. WHAT SHOPS. there are not many now and people are not comming into town because of lack of shops. Instead of spending the money on banning cars why not invest the money into more shops. Take the money the council will spend and half the rates on new and old shops for a few months, invest in them. We don't need a car ban we need more shops. More shops more people spending.

Report this post »

FormerColchesterGirl says...
8:11am Tue 5 Mar 13

I drove down Colchester High Street yesterday and the pedestrians could be counted on one hand. Colchester is a dead town and requires a lot more than a change in traffic requirements. Let's say the town is shut off to cars but Emergency vehicles, busses and taxis are still able to use the High Street. Where will the remainder of the traffic go? Onto the surrounding already slow, congested roads that everyone uses to try and avoid the town centre traffic. These are the main roads that the park and ride they keep putting off will eventually use. East Hill used to be choc a block all the way down pretty much all the time due to giving way at Brook Street but even East Hill isn't so much like that anymore. Why? Because alot of people have already changed their route or as the High Street proved yesterday , people are shopping elsewhere as the parking situation is far too expensive, the new bus park is a joke and the amount of empty shops is a sign of the times. As they say, you cannot polish a t*rd!

Report this post »

jammin says...
8:13am Tue 5 Mar 13

Nice 911 turbo. Soon wont see that on the high street during the day.

If the council made head street, osbourne street and queen street 2 way you could fully close the high street. Queen street could be a little dangerous though!

Report this post »

Colonel Kurtz says...
8:21am Tue 5 Mar 13

mirokou wrote:
Close it to all traffic, let it become open to market stalls, restaurants , bars,open space and enjoy and be done with it.
Excellent idea

Also, include craft, farm and Christmas markets on different days and time of year.

If the high st is going to survive then its needs to adapt. We can't keep going on with charity shops, poundlands and bookmakers. The soul needs to be put back before its too late.

Report this post »

Say It As It Is OK? says...
8:28am Tue 5 Mar 13

It would be interesting to know how CBC squares this decision with their stated opposition to the KFC on Ipswich Road where CBC have objected to that restaurant, citing one of the objections as "it would take business away from the town centre!

Surely restricting traffic on the High Street and causing more congestion and longer journeys around the already congested peripheral roads will take more business away from the town centre than any fast food restaurant on the outskirts of the town would.

Whatever anyone says the High Street will be just as dangerous after 17 March as it is now because it is not going to be pedestrianised.

Bob Russell is very quiet on this subject! unlike his objection to KFC, which is not even in his constituency. Perhaps a view from Bob could be sought?

Report this post »

TheCaptain says...
8:57am Tue 5 Mar 13

blue bird wrote:
I would like to know how much money this ban will cost us to close the high street. You say about the shops in town. WHAT SHOPS. there are not many now and people are not comming into town because of lack of shops. Instead of spending the money on banning cars why not invest the money into more shops. Take the money the council will spend and half the rates on new and old shops for a few months, invest in them. We don't need a car ban we need more shops. More shops more people spending.
What good would more shops do? Who will run them? There are already empty shops anyway.

Rates are a central government tax so cannot be used locally for anything.

Report this post »

stevie,essex says...
5:19pm Tue 5 Mar 13

Discrimination?

Report this post »

catflap1 says...
1:47pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Reginald47 wrote:
If you stopped all traffic where would the buses go?
to the bus stop

Report this post »

Boris says...
12:51am Fri 8 Mar 13

Say It As It Is OK? wrote:
It would be interesting to know how CBC squares this decision with their stated opposition to the KFC on Ipswich Road where CBC have objected to that restaurant, citing one of the objections as "it would take business away from the town centre!

Surely restricting traffic on the High Street and causing more congestion and longer journeys around the already congested peripheral roads will take more business away from the town centre than any fast food restaurant on the outskirts of the town would.

Whatever anyone says the High Street will be just as dangerous after 17 March as it is now because it is not going to be pedestrianised.

Bob Russell is very quiet on this subject! unlike his objection to KFC, which is not even in his constituency. Perhaps a view from Bob could be sought?
To be fair to Bob Russell, he has been in the paper more than once in recent weeks, and earlier, saying that High Street should be left as it is.

Report this post »

shrubender1 says...
12:32pm Fri 8 Mar 13

I dread to think what the traffic chaos will be like on the first monday, have CBC got a hotline for angry motorists who are gridlocked. How are these morons elected.....
I expect there will be a yellow vest brigade out monitoring the traffic flow, hope i am stationary to vent my anger !!!

Report this post »

shrubender1 says...
12:37pm Fri 8 Mar 13

PS sorry the yellow vest brigade will be monitoring the High St, how clever...

Report this post »

linton68 says...
6:45pm Fri 8 Mar 13

There must be many, many of us elderly shoppers, who regularly shop at Marks and Spencers, and who will not now be able to use the taxi service directly outside to cart our bags to our doorsteps. Not just M&S but also shops in the immediate vacinity will also lose trade. I dread to think how the disabled shoppers are going to manage when the high street becomes a no go area for this less mobile group.
The powers that be are driving shoppers away from this, once lovely town. I can envisage the high street becoming a Trading 'Dead Zone'.

Report this post »

RetiredVal says...
10:02pm Fri 8 Mar 13

And if this lunatic idea kills off the Red Lion Hotel, then thats the start of the shut down of heritage in Colchester, to complete the closure of Colchester and make it one big housing estate instead of the beautiful and interesting town it used to be.

Report this post »

HARRY438 says...
11:19pm Fri 8 Mar 13

I notice Maidenburgh st & East Stockwell st have been opened up again so that the sat-nav trucks can get around a little easier.

Report this post »

jeffbridges says...
8:27am Sat 9 Mar 13

Boris wrote:
Ban only cars, let commercial delivery vehicles through, to keep the shops alive. Cars are the main problem.
this Idea you propose,
plus taxis, works quite well between 10am and 4pm in my town centre each day Boris,
as you well know.
If you are that desperate to be in my town centre from 9am you have an hours grace,
as you do from 4pm till closing time to shop.
It could also work well in your town centre too,
but of course, it will never be agreed upon, will It.

Not to be outdone Boris, I will still hopefully visit my favourite fast food outlets during the day and be able to park outside, If I arrive on my motor scooter.
BK anyone?

Report this post »

icecoolmark says...
10:14am Sat 9 Mar 13

Where will CBC get the lost revenue they get at present from all the parking fines? Anyway, I've lived in Colchester now for 10 years, I say Traffic? What traffic? I've never been stuck on the high street apart from the odd evening rush hour. I've been stuck for longer at the hythe. Not being able to use the high st will just create further traffic elsewhere, people will still use their cars and the high st will just look emptier. Until CBC introduce a DAILY market in the high st, people will still stay away.

Report this post »

Reginald47 says...
10:19am Sat 9 Mar 13

Bring back the horse and cart, butcher's boys on bicycles, trams, trolley buses, outdated and old-fashioned displays in the museum, metal syringes, steam radio with no TV, destroy all mobiles and computers and stick to all those lovely things from years ago then all the whingers holding Colchester back will be happy - or will they?

Report this post »

ALIUK1 says...
1:45am Sun 10 Mar 13

Nah I doubt they will as they will no longer have wifi, their iphone or blackberry and most of all the ability to use a laptop as these are all new things lol. Just imagine having to actually write a letter with pen and paper oh how times change :s

Report this post »

TheCaptain says...
10:33am Mon 11 Mar 13

linton68 wrote:
There must be many, many of us elderly shoppers, who regularly shop at Marks and Spencers, and who will not now be able to use the taxi service directly outside to cart our bags to our doorsteps. Not just M&S but also shops in the immediate vacinity will also lose trade. I dread to think how the disabled shoppers are going to manage when the high street becomes a no go area for this less mobile group.
The powers that be are driving shoppers away from this, once lovely town. I can envisage the high street becoming a Trading 'Dead Zone'.
Taxis are allowed so no problem there for you

Report this post »

TheCaptain says...
10:35am Mon 11 Mar 13

RetiredVal wrote:
And if this lunatic idea kills off the Red Lion Hotel, then thats the start of the shut down of heritage in Colchester, to complete the closure of Colchester and make it one big housing estate instead of the beautiful and interesting town it used to be.
This won't kill the Red Lion. If they close then they must be struggling already.

Report this post »

Adazibo says...
2:04pm Mon 11 Mar 13

How nice it would be to have a traffic free town centre. I cannot see that banning cars but allowing busses and taxis to continue to use the high street goes any way to achieving this, keep the centre completely free of all traffic and you would have somewhere worth visiting.

Report this post »

Reginald47 says...
4:27pm Mon 11 Mar 13

That's surely Stage Two.

Report this post »

Sidney Harbour-Bridge says...
5:50pm Mon 11 Mar 13

HARRY438 wrote:
I notice Maidenburgh st & East Stockwell st have been opened up again so that the sat-nav trucks can get around a little easier.
Probably so that councillors and council staff can still access their free car park at the back of the town hall

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree