Plan to restrict cars from St Ives town centre is ‘geared towards tourists’

A bid to minimise the number of cars entering St Ives town centre, including measures to restrict access in peak hours, were among plans exhibited in the town this week as part of the £19. 9 million Town Deal funding projects. More than 300 people visited the Low Carbon Transport exhibition at Library on Monday (November 27) to view the proposals to make St Ives “a greener and healthier place to live, work and visit”.

The plan by the Town Deal stakeholders, including , is to create a Low-Traffic Environment (LTE) in the historic core of the town to decrease congestion, prioritise pedestrian and cyclist safety by reducing vehicular traffic, improving the town’s accessibility through better public transport options and infrastructure and reducing air pollution. But reactions from locals did not seem to imply the moves are welcome. The presentation slides state: “In summary, the vision for St Ives focuses on transforming it into a safer, more accessible, and environmentally friendly destination through traffic reduction and the promotion of sustainable transportation alternatives.

” “St Ives is a multi-layered puzzle, and there is no ‘silver bullet’ that can resolve all the main issues. Many of the problems and concerns in town begin further out and start at the /Lelant Junction. Poor navigation puts pressure on the town as vehicles approach St Ives via less desirable routes.

This issue is compounded by inadequate signage, misguided sat nav directions, high levels of demand for public transport, vehicular traffic and increased volumes of both traffic and pedestrians during the holiday season, resulting in conflict and chaos within the town centre. “This severely detracts from the peaceful seaside ambience that St Ives aims to portray and compromises the safety of residents and visitors. ” The wider strategy includes finding potential sites for additional park and ride facilities at Halsetown and Splattenridden as St Erth Park and Ride has reached full capacity.

These would be developed by parties other than Council. There are plans to improve navigation and signage at the Lelant Road junction, including updates to satellite navigation systems to favour the route into St Ives via the B331 (past Halsetown and Zennor junctions) rather than the A3074 through Lelant and . During peak season this proposal only allows holiday and delivery traffic outside the peak hours of 11am to 4pm.

By introducing a one-way traffic system around Library Corner and up Tregenna Hill, the plan streamlines traffic flow, facilitates better movement and allows for the expansion of pavements, thereby improving the overall pedestrian experience in the area. There would also be possible changes to a number of bus routes. A number of residents have commented on the St Ives town deal and town council pages after seeing the exhibition, all sharing concerns about banning traffic from the town centre.

Gullz R Loud said: “It’s ridiculous to only allow delivery vehicles in off-peak hours – this will adversely impact businesses in the town centre. ” Su Hodgson added: “People need deliveries, people need to pick things up and people need to drive through town, any time of the day. You can’t ban cars and lorries from going through town just because you are worried it upsets the tourists.

St Ives is not a theme park it’s a working town. ” “These proposals completely ignore the fact there are many people who live in in Carbis Bay, Lelant and Halsetown and who work and do business in St Ives town and they need to get in and out of St Ives by car . .

. as if we aren’t struggling enough already with that in the holiday season,” wrote Anne McCrossan. “I live in Lelant so if I was trying to get into St Ives and this plan was implemented it would be even less easy to do.

” Cass Collis said: “I have read all the boards and taken a really good look and this really does seem like it is geared towards tourists, proposed diverting of traffic through Halsetown and through the heart of the residential areas of St Ives. How is this for the residents?” Joel Ninnes added: “Half the lifeboat crew live in Carbis Bay, how do you envisage them getting to the lifeboat station? It’s hard enough in the summer when it’s a road, how will that work when people aren’t expecting cars at all. ” A questionnaire, alongside the digital exhibition of the proposed plans, is available to see .

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