TRAVELLING AROUND AND IN AND OUT OF SADDLEWORTH By Rob Knotts ISSUES FACING SADDLEWORTH Issues facing Saddleworth from the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) include: Increased housing. Increased population. Increased number of cars. Increased traffic. Traffic congestion. Impact of traffic on emissions. Impact of traffic on noise. Impact of traffic on parking. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CARS IN SADDLEWORTH ISSUE CURRENT ESTIMATE 2037 FORECAST Population 25,535 28,895 Number of households 12,110 13,710 Estimated number of cars 18,064 20,565 Based on 1,600 extra households in Saddleworth over the next 20 years Average number of cars per household in Saddleworth = 1.5 Data and information used in developing the analysis comes from statistics produced by the Government and OMBC. SADDLEWORTH ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY FLOWS Saddleworth traffic census are located on 9 roads in Saddleworth. The following shows the Estimated Annual Average Daily Flows (AADFs) on four of the roads. TRAFFIC CONGESTION A672 Shaw Road A62 A669 Glodwick Road High traffic loaded roads (A62, A672, Shaw Road, Glodwick Road and A669) merging with feed-ins from many arterial roads. At peak hour time take to travel from Austerlands to Oldham Mumps – up to an hour (this is before work started in Middleton near the bypass). TRAFFIC CONGESTION COSTS Study from INRIX (an international traffic data firm) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (London based consultancy) predicts annual cost of congestion in the UK will rise 63 Percent by 2030 to £21 Billion. The Centre for Economics and Business Research and INRIX estimated the impact of traffic congestion delays on the British, French, German and American economies. They measured three costs: ❖ How sitting in traffic reduces productivity of the labour force. ❖ How inflated transport costs push up the prices of goods ❖ The carbon-equivalent cost of the emissions. IMPACT OF ROAD TRAFFIC POLLUTION An estimated 29,000 deaths each year in UK are attributed to road transport air pollution. Pollution harms health and wellbeing. Pollution estimated to reduce the life expectancy of everyone in the UK by 6 months. Air pollution damages biodiversity, reduces crop yields and contributes to climate change Greenhouse gases include: Carbon dioxide (CO2) - although not directly harmful to health, CO2 emissions contribute to climate change. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) estimated the average car in use in 2015 emitted 153.0g/km. Nitrous oxide (N2O) - has 300 times the global warming potential of CO2 and can persist in the atmosphere for 100 years. Each vehicle emits 50 mg per mile. Methane (CH4) - its global warming potential is more than 20 times that of CO2, and it can persist in the atmosphere for approximately 12 years. Each vehicle emits 0.01 g per mile. Other contaminants are Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Particulate matter. CAR EMISSIONS Each car emits just under 2 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Estimated Saddleworth car emissions per year: CO2 = over 35,000 tonnes. Nitrous oxide = over 7,000 tonnes. Methane about 1.5 tonnes. A tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds (21.8 kg = 0.0218 tonnes) of carbon dioxide per year. About 145,000 trees are needed to absorb 35,000 tonnes. PUBLIC TRANSPORT Public opinion transport survey: Saddleworth is not well served by public transport. Are people prepared to use it? The last bus service to Denshaw is in the early evening (may change with introduction of Shuttle Bus service). Buses do not run to time or don’t turn up. More frequent and reliable services are desired. Poor connections between Saddleworth villages and Greenfield railway station (Shuttle Bus service plans to change this) Restricted/limited train services from Greenfield to Manchester. Train service from Greenfiedl offers reduced services. Parking very limited. Shuttle bus due to start services between Denshaw, Delph, Diggle, Dobcross & Uppermill. Local Link will extend to all other villages in Saddlworth. TRAFFIC NOISE & VIBRATION Traffic noise impacts on peoples’ health and wellbeing. Noise arising from a stream of traffic has two main components: Noise generated by the engine, exhaust and transmission systems of vehicles. Noise generated by the interaction of tyres with the road surface; this is the dominant noise source when traffic is flowing. Traffic vibration is a low frequency disturbance producing physical movement in buildings and their occupants. SADDLEWORTH PARKING Parking is a problem in Saddleworth. When villages were developed cars were not on the scene. As residents rely on cars so much for activities such as getting to work, shopping, surgery visits, car ownership is high. However, as car parking spaces are not readily available many vehicles are parked on main roads. Uppermill Location Spaces Time limit Brun Clough 30 Unlimited Hare and Hounds 10 (1 disabled) 2 hours King George V playing fields 30 (1 disabled) 2 hours Millgate 32 Unlimited New street 10 Unlimited Old lane 7 Unlimited Old Mill lane 20 Unlimited Smithy lane 24 (3 disabled) 2 hours Station road 25 Unlimited Saddleworth Museum 32 (2 disabled) 3 hours There is additional parking at Saddleworth Sports Centre (46 marked bays and 20 unmarked). COST OF BUILDING ROADS Even if land was readily available for building additional roads the cost in doubtless prohibitive. Figures based on estimates produced in 2006 are given below. They do not include cost of land purchase or subsequent maintenance. Bypass – single carriageway £1.57 million per km (£2.53 million per mile) Two lane 7.3 m (7.7 feet) wide road in rural location, cost range £1,050 to £1,300 per metre which equated to between £1.05 million and £1.3 million per km (£1.7 million to £2.1 million per mile) CHALLENGING THE TRAFFIC ISSUE Encourage people to use buses and leave their cars at home. Develop more industry and jobs in Saddleworth. Find another way of moving people around and in and out of Saddleworth. HAS THE TIME COME TO SEEK A LIGHT TRANSIT SYSTEM IN SADDLEWORTH ? Issues that need to be considered: Political will. Land availability and suitability. Type of transit system. Power/energy supply. Impact on environment and community. Cost. Funding. Return on Investment. OLDHAM TO DELPH BY RAILWAY Glodwick Road Station Measurements Delph Station Halt Dobcross Station West Portal Oldham Mumps Station Lydgate Tunnel Moorgate Halt Greenfield Station Clegg Street Station Lees Station Grotton & Springhead Station Grasscroft Halt Saddleworth Station Diggle Station Butterhouse Tunnel Uppermill Station which is now buried Friezland station is seen between Greenfield Viaduct (left) and Friezland Viaduct (right) Train Emerging from Royal George Hotel Tunnel Could the Oldham to Greenfield line be linked to the old Micklehurst Loop and back to the Delph Donkey Line? OLDHAM TO GROTTON OLDHAM MUMPS TO SITE OF OLD LEES RAILWAY STATION West Side of Lees Road West Side of Cranbrook Street Oldham Mumps Crossing Wellyhole Street Metrolink Station Bridge Inn Site of Old Lees Approaching Railway Station Bridge Inn Approaching Clarksfield Road OLDHAM MUMPS TO BRIDGE INN Oldham Mumps Metrolink Station Approaching Bridge Inn Bridge Inn LYDGATE TUNNEL Approaching West Portal Approaching West Portal West Portal West Portal (Inside Tunnel) LYDGATE TUNNEL One Of Three Vents East Portal Photos dated 2011 and 2013 In 2008 Lydgate tunnel’s owners, British Railways, carried out a five-month programme of repairs (That was) Moorgate Halt Level Crossing 2018 IMPORTANT ISSUES Development of light rail system must not rob communities of the associated walking/cycling trails. Could the system accommodate Austerlands, Denshaw, Diggle, Lydgate, Scouthead and Springhead? Integrate shuttle bus times with light rail system times. Local Link can assist in accessing stations. Parking needed at stations. Need to evaluate potential impact of system on business and tourism. LIGHT TRANSIT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY Overhead lines supply electricity to the vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger of passengers stepping on an electrified third rail. Overhead lines are expensive to install and maintain, also susceptible to weather. The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux, France use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath the trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe, as well as a few recently-opened systems in North America use diesel-powered vehicles. LIGHT TRANSIT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY China has unveiled a new tram which runs on ‘virtual tracks’ Autonomous Rail Transit (ART). called Autonomous Rail Transit (ART). The new hybrid tram/bus uses white painted road markings, assisted by a driver on specially designated lanes. Battery-powered and capable of speeds up to 43 miles per hour, a three-carriage vehicle can hold more than 300 passengers. CRRC, the Chinese transportation company that manufactures them, estimates that building and running a network of rail-buses would be about 20 percent of the cost of a subway system. The ART is also completely electric, and can get 15 miles on a 10 minute charge. The goal of the project is to create affordable mass transit for cities without enough money to build subways or tram tracks. Rubber-tyred Tram A rubber-tyred tram (also known a tramway on tyres) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle