Car Parking and Road Closures in Dewsbury

Closure of Longcauseway

The closure of Longcauseway effective pedestrianises the south east corner of the town centre shaded green around the the Town Hall. 

Green roads can access areas to the east of town.  Blue roads can access the Daisy Hill area to the west of town.  This shows the marked split in the town between east and west with Northgate being the boundary between the two.

And what the council failed to say in their announcement was that Crackenedge Lane between Corporation Street and Wakefield Old Road (marked with a dotted green line) would become 2-way thereby allowing access to the Town Hall, the mobility centre for disabled drivers, the Post Office, banks  and much of the on-street parking in the east of the town.

Bus Services

Longcauseway would also remain open for buses in order to maintain an effective bus service.

The Dewsbury Blueprint

This closure of Longcauseway is in the long term Dewsbury Blueprint published in February this year where Longcauseway becomes part of a proposed urban park.  

However, the question of access was not dealt with in the Blueprint and remained subject to consultation whenever the question arose.  So claiming to have published their intentions in the Blueprint really doesn't wash.

At the same time, one can see the advantages of a large, pedestrianised area for safer walking, cycling and disabled movement - once the question of access is dealt with.  So taking advantage of making the change early when there is government funding available would seem to be a sensible thing to do.

Closure of Halifax Road

We understand that this idea of closing the road adjacent to the new college in Pioneer House has been shelved due to traffic management issues and has become academic ('scuse the pun!)

If they were to solve the traffic problems then creating a safe, quiet space alongside the college does look like a very attractive idea.  We'll see whenever it surfaces again when the planners have a solution.

Cycle Lane on Ring Road

The proposal is to close the inner lane of the ring road between Leeds Road and Bradford Road (marked in yellow)

There appear to be 2 reasons for this.

1. The planners are trying to find a way to ease the death grip that the ring road has on the town by reducing its capacity and giving more space to pedestrians and cyclists to allow easier crossing. To do this they are looking at reducing the road capacity by removing one lane.  
   The Active Travel initiative gives them an excuse to do this now while traffic levels are unusually low so that it can easily be reversed if necessary.
2. The Active Travel initiative enables them to claim they are doing this for the benefit of cyclists. 

Frankly, we understand the testing of reduced capacity is necessary and some might say that the cycle lane is just a smoke screen.  They will need to do the testing at some time so lets get on and do it now while traffic levels are low and more easily managed.

Car Parking and Access Solution

So now we know what the council has proposed, which has received a pretty robust shellacking by many residents on various Facebook pages, let's get back to the proposal made by the Chamber of Trade.. 

Cliffe Street car park is little used because it is slightly inconvenient and is up a hill and therefore disliked by the elderly and infirm.  As such, the council has zoned it for residential use or to accommodate a new office building. 

Worst of all, there is only one way into it which is off the ring road - and is then pretty well unfindable due to an almost total lack of signage.

However, as the only major car park still in the council's control this is the one lever still available to them to influence the attractiveness of the town to visitors and residents alike.  The Chamber proposal is to make use of this to benefit the town.

Taking Advantage of Cliffe Street

The closure of Longcausway leaves only two access routes into the town centre, i.e. Northgate and Crackenedge Lane accessed from Cliffe Street.

Therefore make Cliffe Street car park the main gateway for visitors who want to stay a while. 

Free with no time limits and no penalties. 

Every town centre regeneration plan encourages people to stay in the town centre. Until we encourage this behaviour any recovery in Dewsbury is doomed to failure.

Park and Ride.  

Extend the Free Town Bus route up Sharp Street, through the car park and down Camroyd Street. This will kill off the problem of the hill.  Suddenly, the elderly and infirm will find Cliffe Street car parking more attractive than searching for a parking space in the town centre.

Make it Easier for the Disabled

Move the Mobility Centre to Cliffe Street. Once Cliffe Street is easy to find and access and has lots of space then it become the obvious place to transfer from car to mobiility scooter. Develop a safe route into the town centre to access a vast, safe pedestrianised area.

Create A Business Opportunity

For those who still find it too far to walk - is there a business opportunity with  trishaws to fill in between Town Buses - and a town centre service for shops using cargo bikes?