Did Aggregate Industries really think those junction plans displayed at the Public Exhibition yesterday would allay people's concerns about road safety? Concerns shared by AI's last set of traffic consultants:
The southern option, onto the B3174, was dismissed early in the process on highway safety grounds 5.44
Is AI's current traffic consultant living in fantasy land? He said that up to 200 HGVs a day, turning onto and off Ottery's busiest, fastest road, off and onto a quiet country lane used by pedestrians, would not be dangerous. He said that he was experienced, that he relied on some special software. But he couldn't tell you how wide the opening from Birdcage Lane would need to be. He certainly didn't know about nearby Public Rights of Ways. He maintained that HGVs would have the required visibility without any hedges or trees being removed. It was as though he had never visited the site.
He said his designs were safe, but he had made NO allowance for pedestrians, NO allowance for school buses, school buses like the one in the photo here.
It was just a drawing. Just a wing and a prayer. It was laughable. It had not been OK'd by DCC. It made allowance for AI and nobody else.
DCC Highways had even informed AI about PROWs and making provision for pedestrians. Why did AI not think to tell its traffic consultant? Who knows? An oversight? Or perhaps making provision for people, the people who actually live here, was going to make things too difficult for the company's last ditch attempt at site access?
