Birdcage Lane is hardly used by anyone, argues Aggregate Industries' Transport Assessment. Someone apparently counted vehicles on Birdcage Lane at "peak hours", and came to the answer of one.
What a perfect place to put up to 216 44-tonne HGVs a day. Who on earth would notice?
But Birdcage Lane’s low frequency of traffic is what makes it so attractive to pedestrians, joggers, ramblers, dog-walkers, cyclists, horse riders, and even five-time Olympic runners. It was why, with the backing of highway consultants Vectos, another site access point was suggested to eliminate pedestrian and HGV conflict.
Aggregate Industries' Transport Assessment is silent on the pedestrian use of Birdcage Lane, save for:
1.1.6 To reduce the potential interaction of pedestrians and HGV’s in a rural environment a footway will be provided along Birdcage Lane to the point where the new section of Permissive footpath is proposed.
This would have a "1.2m maximum width" and be overgrown in no time. But it’s the thought that counts, and we should consider ourselves lucky.
In the past, Aggregate Industries' consultants have disputed that Birdcage Lane is used by pedestrians:
The roads adjacent to the application sites are not ideal for pedestrian use. 4.1
It was of course nonsense. Aggregate Industries, if asked, would no doubt still dispute that these quiet lanes have amenity value. Show us the proof, they might say. And modern technology does.
Strava: a social fitness network, that is primarily used to track cycling and running exercises, using GPS data.
Click on the screenshot below to show the pedestrian use of Birdcage Lane:
Aggregate Industries' consultants should clearly have been counting bipeds and quadrupeds as well. But then again, that wouldn't have given them the answer they wanted, would it?
Strava also tells us about the B3174 – the road that Aggregate Industries wants to use to haul sand and gravel. The company's previous TA said the B3174 was unattractive to cyclists. The latest TA is silent on the matter of cyclists and the interaction with up to 216 HGV movements a day, save for:
3.2.13 There are no designated cycle routes within close proximity of the proposed mineral extraction site, however proficient cyclists may utilise the network of quiet lanes.
Clearly they use more than just the quiet lanes. The screenshot below shows cyclist use of the B3174:
Plainly – and this won't be the last example – Aggregate Industries' Transport Assessment has been found deficient. Consultants have not assessed ALL road users around the site. How very remiss. How very unsurprising.
