Appendix A- Parking and Traffic Study. Parking and Traffic study Introduction. 1. Parking in Corfe has long been a major issue. The Corfe Castle Parish Council has recognized this and has created a group to review the various parking issues in and around the village. This study was later expanded to include traffic, which is also a major issue. This document is a first draft for consideration by the council. The National Background. 2. In 2019 there are 38.2 million cars on the roads of Great Britain. 630,000 additional cars are put on the roads each year. This creates a major problem as our roads have never been developed to cater for this number of cars. This is seen in Corfe as a problem for both residents and visitors to find parking places. It also generates congestion on the roads into and out of the village. This was particularly bad during the summer of 2019 while the Sandbanks to Studland ferry was not working. Queues for 4 miles into and out of the village were not unusual. 3. The volume of traffic is also of environmental concern and creates an unsafe environment as the main A351 road passes right through the middle of the village. There is also a dangerous and difficult turn outside the Bankes Arms Hotel where large lorries have to pull across into the opposite lane in order to get round the corner. 4. The A351 carries all traffic passing through the village on its way to Swanage. Every development in Swanage increases the amount of traffic passing through Corfe. The Purbeck local plan had identified that there should be no more development in Swanage until the A351 had been improved. However in light of currently planned developments on the old grammar school site in Swanage and in Langton Matravers it would appear that this policy is not being followed. Additionally all lorries carrying stone to and from the quarries on the hill pass through Corfe. 5. Over the past few years the number of vehicles has increased substantially and the size of the larger Lorries has also increased. For example some of the quarry lorries now have an integral trailer, and the Co-op supermarket lorry, which delivers to Swanage daily, has about doubled in size. In addition there are frequently deliveries of chalet type houses to and from Swanage. These substantial vehicles create considerable disruption. 6. The village infrastructure was never designed to cater for the large number of cars which Appendix A- Parking and Traffic Study. bring the visitors to the village. Parking has therefore been a major issue in the village since around 1945. It has never been satisfactorily solved. In addition, today the size of lorries passing through the village, and servicing businesses in the village, has increased and places a considerable strain on the infrastructure. 7. The concept of providing a bypass for the village has been considered several times over the years. The first proposal for a bypass was in 1929 when steam lorries passing through the village were creating a great strain on building foundations. This problem was solved by the use of pneumatic tyres and leaf springs. A bypass route was laid out across the common in 1948, but was stopped by the Bankes estate. Finally proposals for two possible eastern routes and two possible western routes were put forward by the Parish Council in the 1980s. Unfortunately the village could not agree on a suitable preferred route and consequently funding was withdrawn. It is highly unlikely that today a bypass would be affordable, even if a suitable agreed route could be found. The difficulty of selecting a route is today increased by multiple SSSIs and architectural sites. The provision of a bypass is thus not a realistic aspiration. Corfe as a Tourist Destination 8. Corfe is a major national tourist destination where multiple activities exist. The Castle draws around 300,000 visitors a year, while the railway transports up to 250,000. Many of these, of course, may be people who are also visit the castle, but there is no doubt that the railway is a major tourist attraction. In addition there are the beaches at Studland and Swanage and the rugged coastline at Kimmeridge. All these attract a large number of people who invariably arrived by car. It is estimated that Purbeck receives 4 million visitor days a year. As a result of these visitors the village has a large number of facilities not normally available to communities the size of Corfe. For example there are five pubs/hotels, various shops including an excellent village store and several independent tea-rooms including the National Trust. All these businesses require servicing exclusively by lorry. 9. Resident’s parking in the village is either by using the properties driveway for parking space, on the verge in front of or near the house, on the road, or in one of the residents parking slots in station road or in West Street. Resident’s slots are rented from Dorset council or in the case of West Street from the Parish Council. 10. Visitor parking is either at Norden (now renamed Purbeck Park – see more below) or in the West Street Park. There is also some on-street time limited parking. The use of Norden is quite well developed, but the problem is access to the village as there is no shuttle service, the railway is too infrequent and expensive and the paths are not suitable for use by people with limited mobility, pushing buggies or wheelchair users. Norden is estimated to allow the Appendix A- Parking and Traffic Study. parking of 427 vehicles, although the new Purbeck Park signs give the figure as 350. The West Street Park has 91 spaces. Both are pay and display. 11. Dorset Council has plans to expand the parking at Norden and to provide both pedestrian and cycle access from Norden to the National Trust Castle view. Previous Studies 12. A number of previous studies have been undertaken by the Parish Council. The ones of interest were in 2010 and 2013/6. These largely determined the present layout of lines within the village. Timescales 13. Some of the proposals which are suggested in this report could be undertaken fairly quickly, however the larger proposals will take several years. A proposal to close the West Street car park, which at this stage he is no more than a proposal, depends on the completion of the Norden project, which in itself will take several years. Once an alternative is developed it will again take anything up to five years before any change can be implemented. Funding 14. These proposals are all un-costed and unfunded and will require money to be provided by Dorset Council or other sources. They will all also require design, consultancy, and project management resources for their completion. Some may require planning permission. The major proposals should therefore be considered aspirational at this stage. Cycling 15. Cycling has become hugely more popular in recent years, with many more cyclists being seen on the road. These may be either individual cyclists, families, or large organized events. Wherever possible we must attempt to segregate cyclists from motor traffic on the more dangerous roads in the district. In particular we need alternatives to people cycling up and down the A351 to the north of the castle. Additionally, the large number of organize cycling events, which take place in and around the village, and occasionally have over 500 participants, need to be controlled better than at present. However this is a problem which is not peculiar to Corfe and which needs a wider national solution. Among other things cycling events should only be undertaken if they are properly controlled and if all riders comply with road traffic regulations. In addition cyclists need to be identified so that those who break the Appendix A- Parking and Traffic Study. law, such as jumping the red lights on the pedestrian crossing, can be identified and brought to book. 16. Dorset Council needs to develop a plan for safe cycling in Purbeck and particularly Corfe to the ferry and Corfe to Swanage. There may be scope for bidding for national cycling funding. Charging Points for Electric Vehicles 17. All car parking areas should be provided with electric charging points. The National Trust are already installing points in the Castle View car park. The Parish Council should press Dorset Council to install charging points in all car parks as soon as possible. Parking in the square 18. The square provides a through route for traffic to West Street, to people who live around the square and to the National Trust access to the castle. It also provides parking for delivery vehicles to the businesses in and around the square. A large amount of traffic passes through the Square particularly because of the surgery and the west street car park which are only accessible via this route. 19. There are currently 12 parking spaces in the square and there are double yellow lines right along the south (Church) side. These are often ignored and the purpose for them is not clear. There are pavements running along the south, west and north sides of the square. 20. We have an aspiration to increase the ability for people to sit in the square outside the businesses to enjoy the atmosphere and ambience of the area. This would best be done by increasing the paving in the area on the north (Bakery) side of the square. We might introduce temporary parking on the south (church) side of the square parallel to the pavement and also allow parking on the north side of the square parallel to the new enlarged pavement.