St Austell Transport Strategy Development

Appendix E – Transport Strategy

May 2017 Transportation

St Austell’s Transport Strategy sits within the context of Council’s overarching transport strategy, Connecting Cornwall, as set out in more detail in section 2.17.

St Austell has key commuter links with , and /Par and in line with the Cornwall wide trend a high proportion of trips into and out of St Austell is undertaken by car. Inbound traffic has increased by 11% between 2001 and 2011 and outbound traffic 27% illustrating there is a high level of out- commuting.

St Austell benefits from a mainline rail station located in the centre of the town and will benefit from half hourly rail service frequency improvements in late 2018 as a result of investment in mainline signalling. St Austell is also fairly well served by bus with frequent services to Truro and Bodmin. However, the town has a constrained local road network which already experiences congestion during peak hours, particularly at major junctions along the A390 and this is exacerbated during the holidays. This congestion is responsible for concerns over air quality in the town and as a result the town has been declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).

Proposed development in both St Austell and at West Carclaze will add traffic on the local highway network and as a result a number of junction and highway upgrades will be required in order to manage congestion; however opportunities within the town are limited by physical constraints e.g. lack of available land to deliver schemes, particularly relating to the A390. Therefore, a traffic management scheme for the heavily congested A390 Holmbush corridor is programmed for delivery in the next couple of years. This will link signalling, helping to manage the route in the most efficient way and will help to address the air quality issue.

There are also two new roads proposed within and on the outskirts of the town:

 Trewhiddle Link Road; and

 A30 Link Road

The Trewhiddle Link Road is a scheme that will deliver a new route between Road and the A390; creating an alternative route that avoids the constrained Pentewan Road/Penwinnick Road junction. The route will be delivered through the development of the permitted Higher Trewhiddle Farm scheme (PA14/12161) and the Pentewan site (STA-M1). The access on to the A390 could be through the permitted Higher Trewhiddle Farm site; or preferably through the Edgcumbe allocation (STA-M2), which would then link with proposals to upgrade the existing ‘Edgcumbe Triangle’ junction.

The A30 Link Road will deliver a new vehicular route from St Austell to the A30, providing a new corridor to the strategic road network, which will unlock the ability to deliver the proposed growth, particularly the West Carclaze Eco- community. Furthermore, the scheme will increase the commercial attractiveness of the town, as well as address congestion issues within the surrounding villages, particularly Roche and Bugle.

The proposed West Carclaze development will need to mitigate the impacts of its traffic by providing upgrades to 3 junctions on the A391 adjacent to the site. These junctions are identified in the West Carlaze section of this document. The development will also need to support necessary improvements to highway infrastructure within the town on which it will have impact. This includes the A390 Holmbush corridor, Tregonissey Road and Polkyth Road signals.

Whilst there are various highway projects proposed, in order to get the most out of the existing transport network, measures to promote greater use of sustainable transport are vital to reduce congestion. Therefore a key aim is to build on and enhance the existing public transport services, provide improved infrastructure such as Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) at bus stops, develop a comprehensive walking and cycling network and ensure greater integration of all transport modes so that a more efficient and convenient network is provided within the town.

The strategic transport measures proposed for the town are summarised within Table St3 below:

Table St3: St Austell Transport Projects

Scheme type Scheme Comment

Highway Trewhiddle A link road leading from the A390 to improvements Farm Link road a new junction on the B3273 Pentewan Road, providing relief for the A390 Pentewan Road junction

A30 to St Creating a new route from the north Austell Link of St Austell to the A30, which will Road enable growth, particularly economic growth and address congestion in surrounding villages

Holmbush Height of bridge restricts use for Bridge largest HGVs, which has re-routing implications around the town. Investigate opportunities to address issue

Junction A3058 Consists of 3 junctions, where traffic improvements/traffic Edgcumbe from the A3058, A390 and B3274 management road/Truro converges. A realignment of this road triangle junction will provide some relief from congestion

A390/B3273 A wider improvement to the A390 Pentewan Penwinnick Road / B3273 Pentewan road/South Road junction to maximise Street operational capacity and safety at roundabout this location with conversion of junction existing double mini-roundabouts to a larger single roundabout.

Slades road / Review options for junction Polkyth Rd / improvement which could include a Sandy Hill possible conversion from signals to double mini mini roundabout junction to the roundabout Slades Road / Sandy Hill junction to junction maximise capacity and safety at this location.

A390 A traffic control system along the Holmbush A390 corridor between the A391 corridor Urban junction and Porthpean Road Traffic Control junctions comprising signal scheme upgrades and system improvements which will encompass new junctions as they come on stream. This should include a revised layout to Porthpean junction. This scheme will facilitate an improvement in traffic flow along the strategic A390 route and improve air quality due to reduced queuing times. Furthermore, the Britainnia Junction should be investigated to determine whether further capacity needs to be created at this location, to support the wider project for the A390 corridor.

Tregonissey To deliver junction and network Road/ Slades improvements in the northern area Road signals of St Austell – to include Tregonissey signals, Scredda Roundabout and surrounding residential roads

Truro Possible modifications to existing Road/Bridge signals to improve provision for Road/Gover right turners and throughput of Road junction

Rail improvements Service Planned signalling improvements on improvements the mainline will enable a half hourly service from St Austell to Exeter in 2018. This will be Rail station complemented by improved rolling improvements stock. St Austell rail station has recently seen completion of access improvements comprising a lift bridge funded through the Department for Transport’s Access for All funding pot. These improvements will be supported through better signage to the station with enhanced walking and cycling links.

Bus improvements Bus The One Public Transport System infrastructure for Cornwall (OPTSC) project will deliver a high quality, accessible and integrated public transport Bus service network for Cornwall by December improvements 2018. Work is underway to identify improvements to bus services, infrastructure, information, ticketing and branding that will significantly improve the offer to both existing passengers and non-users to improve the appeal of public transport, driving up patronage on bus and rail, making the network more financially viable. The improvements to bus and rail integration will be implemented to tie in with the delivery of a new rail timetable which provides 2 trains per hour on the mainline in Cornwall in December 2018.

Walking/cycling Town wide A town wide pedestrian and cycle network cycle network network has been drawn up. This consists of new cycle way and footpath provision and improvements to the existing routes with crossing points and parking facilities which will link new housing developments to key attractors including employment retail and education. The network will be delivered in phases, prioritised by opportunities to connect residential and employment sites; demand; and safety.

The sustainable transport measures set out in the preceding table will not only help address highway impacts and offer alternatives to the car, but it will also positively contribute to the future management of air quality within the town.

The improvements set out above set out the strategic measures to address the proposed growth; however developers will still be expected to prepare the appropriate transport assessments to accompany their applications, which might identify further localised measures to address impacts resulting from their development. St Austell Town Framework: Transport Strategy 2030 A30 Link road A new vehicular route from St Austell to the A30, providing a new corridor Walking and Cycling to the strategic road network, which Tregonissey Road/ Slades Road signals will unlock the ability to deliver Enhanced walking and cycling network Study to review options for junction and the proposed growth, particularly linking the town centre, employment network improvements in northern area of the West Carclaze Eco-community areas, residential areas and principal St Austell. and increase the commercial leisure destinations, including attractiveness of the town. extensions to existing networks, dedicated cycle lanes, additional A30

Victoria crossings points, better signage, A30 Lockengate Slades road/Sandy hill double mini Redmoor

Tregoss Moor Roche additional cycle parking and promotion A391 Goss roundabout junction Moor Indian Lanlivery Queens B3274 Bugle

Luxulyan

St Dennis A390

Whitemoor Luxulyan Valley Review options for junction improvement (World Heritage Site) Stenalees

Penwithick

Nanpean Carthew which could include a possible conversion Eden Trethurgy Project

Foxhole St Blazey Blackpool Pit Tywardreath from signals to mini roundabout junction. A391 Truro Rd/ Bridge Rd/Gover Rd St Stephen Trethowel High Street Par St Austell Par Edgcumbe Triangle junction Lanjeth Beach Par Docks

Coombe St Mewan Carlyon Bay A390 Charlestown (World Heritage Site) A realignment of this junction will St Austell Bay provide some relief from congestion signals to improve provision for as well as providing access to the right turners and throughput of Trewhiddle site and new link road. junction.

A390 Holmbush Road Corridor

links the signals along the A390 corridor between the A391 junction and Porthpean Road junctions, which will facilitate

along the strategic A390 route and improve air quality due to Public Transport Improvements and Enhanced Mainline reduced queuing times. Pentewan road/Penwinnick Road junction Rail Services – The One Public Transport System for Cornwall A new link road through A wider improvement to maximise operational (OPTSC) project will deliver a high quality, accessible and development site capacity and safety at this location with integrated public transport network for Cornwall by December conversion of existing double mini-roundabouts 2018. Work is underway to identify improvements to bus to a larger single roundabout. services, vehicles, infrastructure, information, ticketing and

existing passengers and non-users, increasing the appeal of public transport to drive up patronage on bus and rail and

to bus, rail and ferry integration will be implemented to tie in with the delivery of a new rail timetable which provides 2 Connecting Cornwall objectives trains per hour on the mainline in Cornwall in December 2018.

Tackling climate change Respecting and enhancing the environment

Supporting economic Encouraging healthy prosperity active lifestyles

Supporting equality of opportunity