Colchester: Business Park to Greenstead

Proposed route: Severalls Lane to Avon Way, Greenstead.

In autumn 2023, we held a number of different engagement activities including an online survey, an in-person event and sent all residents living within 300m of the proposed route a letter setting out the proposed plans and asking for their feedback.

We received lots of feedback from you. The following lists the key issues you felt strongly about and how we're responding to them.

You told us that you think that shared cycling and walking paths are not safe for pedestrians and therefore should be segregated, with better markings and/or signage.

Our response: segregated cycling and walking paths require space to install and unfortunately the proposed route is not wide enough to do this. However, we will make sure that any signage is clear so that cyclists and pedestrians are aware that they are shared.

You told us that you’re concerned that the current crossings at the Rovers Tye roundabout aren’t safe enough and that improvements and/or more crossings are needed.

Our response: new improved signalised crossings will be added to all four arms of the roundabout to make crossing safer.

You told us that you feel that Goring Road and Barnardiston Road are too steep for cycling.

Our response: we appreciate that the gradient is steep on Goring Road and Barnardiston Road and might be too steep for some cyclists. We’re currently discussing this issue with Active Travel England to seek their views and advice and will update you as soon as possible.

You told us that you think more crossings are needed between Ipswich Road and Harwich Road.

Our response: our plans include a new signalised crossing on Harwich Road between the Oak Tree Centre recreation grounds and Porters Brook.

You told us about possible alternative routes, including St John’s Road, and Green Lane up to Parson’s Heath.

Our response: we considered using St John’s Road as it provides a direct link between the business park and Greenstead. However, traffic volumes are relatively high and we would need to build a segregated cycle path to ensure the safety of cyclists. The extra space required for a segregated path means that we would have to acquire land from the residential properties. Therefore this option isn’t feasible.

This is the same issue for the route running from Green Lane up to Parson’s Heath although in this case, we would need to acquire land that is currently in agricultural use.