Trams can help us beat congestion (From Thisisdorset)

Trams can help us beat congestion

10:42am Friday 12th September 2008

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IN MY VIEW

ECHO reader David Henshaw of Manor Road, Dorchester, has come up with a way of easing the traffic congestion in Weymouth and Portland. Here he explains why a tramway is the answer. . .

I recently had reason to commute for a week from Dorchester to Fortuneswell, and got to thinking about what would happen in 2012 when the Olympic sailing events are held here.

The most noticeable thing about the appalling congestion in and around Weymouth was its unpredictability.

Each day it would ebb and flow, never definitely starting or finishing in the same place.

Sometimes the queue from Portland into Weymouth would begin before Ferrybridge, while on other days the Dorchester Road would be stationary and the Portland Road relatively clear.

This sort of unpredictability is caused when roads are close to their maximum capacity - the slightest ripple caused by a breakdown or minor hold-up causing big congestion.

Clearly, a relief road funnelling traffic into the town from the Dorchester end is pointless under these circumstances.

At the moment, the Dorchester Road acts as a crude safety valve, smoothing out the traffic peaks.

If traffic were to arrive in Weymouth at a greater rate, the congestion in the town - and on the route to Portland - would be even worse.

In four years it will be worse by a few percentage points anyway, and a relief road will encourage even greater car use. With the Olympic traffic on top, the whole system will grind to a halt.

Clearly, a more radical solution is needed, so I make what must surely be a final plea to the authorities to look at a tram solution.

The frustrating part is that almost all the required infrastructure is there already - the quay tramway is disused but intact (and a majority of residents want it retained), while the Portland railway route is available.

There's no bridge over the Swannery of course, but Westham Bridge is unused and perfectly sited.

From here, trams would cross Westwey Road to reach the former railway route.

The Newstead Road and Fleet bridges are missing, of course, but trams require only light and elegant structures, so these are not the issues they would be if we were talking about reinstating a railway.

At Portland, the old railway station at Victoria Square was relatively inconvenient, because the line curved sharply to the east behind the dockyard.

This is no longer an issue, and with the closure and removal of the fuel tanks and associated buildings, there is now plenty of room for a terminus right against Victoria Square, where buses could pull in to take passengers forward to different parts of the island.

Looking at other tram systems, it would be reasonable to assume a journey time from Weymouth railway station to Victoria Square of 11 to 15 minutes.

That compares with a current bus schedule of 18 minutes (service 1) and 24 minutes (service 501). And those bus times assume congestion-free roads and the Harbour Bridge staying closed - the journey time can easily double on a bad day in August.

A tram service would bring many advantages. There are currently around 10 to 15 buses an hour on the road to Portland, and when congestion is bad, they very often run in convoy at walking pace.

Simply removing these buses would help to reduce congestion, but obviously many car drivers would choose to travel by tram too, reducing congestion further still for those who want or need to drive.

For visitors - and there will be considerable extra traffic between London and Weymouth during the Olympics - a tram service connecting with trains at Weymouth station would give a fast, seamless journey.

And, with more visitors arriving in the town by train, there would be less congestion on Dorchester Road, speeding journeys for everyone.

Weymouth has four years to produce a workable transport blueprint and implement it.

A basic service of diesel-powered trams could be up and running in that time, with other desirable add-ons brought on stream later, as funding allowed.

Overhead electrification would be an obvious enhancement, and there would be no need for unsightly power-supply wires in the town, as tram systems abroad are already operating on battery power over short distances in city centres.

The trams could be extended to Dorchester too. There are no technical difficulties with running 'tram-trains' between current 'heavy' rail services, giving a much denser service and a few extra stops, such as Tesco/Football Ground in Dorchester, and Radipole.

I ask the local and county authorities to reveal their transport plans for 2012.

Are they assuming there will be road coaches from London to Portland? Too slow for that distance, and they'll get snarled in traffic from Dorchester.

Are they luxury coaches meeting trains at Weymouth? They'll still hit the traffic congestion. Are they planning to tinker with traffic lights phases, and paint the odd yellow line here and there?

A complete waste of money! The International Olympic Committee has already expressed concern about Britain's ability to develop suitable transport infrastructure for the Games.

It's late in the day, but Weymouth could still produce a transport system worthy of the 21st century.

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