A petition to force the Isle of Wight Council to go through the planning process before changes are made to the highways on Ryde Esplanade has hit 1,000 signatures.
The council had previously hit back at the Ryde Interchange petition saying it failed to recognise the improvements the scheme will bring.
It said residents should be assured the authority has followed planning procedures properly.
Decision deferred
It comes after the decision to start the scheme was deferred by the council’s cabinet following comments about the lack of opportunity to share views and concerns opinions would not be taken into account about the scheme.
Consultation ends tomorrow
The six-week consultation on the highways part of the £10m scheme comes to an end on Tuesday (3rd August) with the authority saying there is still time to shape some of the key elements of the Ryde Transport Interchange.
The council is involved in remodelling the bus station, creating a new road layout with a new access to the pier and the way buses go out of the town, as well as cycle route and more pedestrianised, public areas.
Claims of increased congestion and pollution
However, the petition, started by local businesswoman and former member of the Ryde Regeneration Group, Cathy Foulkes, is trying to encourage the council to go through the planning process before putting into action the proposals that she says will cause danger to pedestrians and significantly increase congestion and pollution.
White: The fatal flaw
Another voice against the proposals is retired transport planner, Bob White, who described one aspect of the designs — the exit of the pier road with the merging of Esplanade traffic and a pedestrian traffic — as ‘the fatal flaw’.
Mr White said that one detail will create addition danger, congestion and sever the train station from Western Gardens for pedestrians and cyclists.
Over 1,000 signed petition
Speaking of the petition’s milestone, Ms Foulkes said that providing no consultation opportunity on the major changes was a failure of communication by the council.
She said,
“After receiving criticism that my strong objections to it were ‘just a matter of taste’, within three weeks 35,800 people have taken an interest and over 1,000 have felt strongly enough to share the petition.
“It all indicates there would be strong support to move to seek a judicial review to defend Ryde seafront from this appalling proposal.”
Comments on all aspects welcome
When the consultation first began, residents were confused over what they could comment on with the focus seemingly being on the public realm and decisions like the colour of railings and benches.
The council has since clarified comments on all aspects of the highways scheme are welcome.
Stakeholders consulted
The council say the scheme was developed after speaking with the Ryde Regeneration Group, which has representatives from key groups in the town like the town council, business association and Ryde Society.
The decision whether to implement the scheme will be made at the September cabinet meeting, or earlier if it is necessary, having taken all the comments gathered from the consultation into consideration.
Petition and consultation
You can view Ms Foulke’s petition on Change.org Website or find more about the consultation on the council’s Website.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
