Despite the Isle of Wight Council making 20 changes to the controversial Ryde Interchange scheme, those against the project are still describing it as a ‘scandal in the making’.
As part of the £10million Ryde Gateway project, the Isle of Wight Council is proposing a reconfiguration of the bus station, a new pier access road and improved cycle and pedestrian networks.
The highways schemes are yet to be implemented or finalised, due to the detailed public consultation feedback.
Some of the changes include removing part of the parking on the new pier access road, restoring pedestrian access to the main pier and having a temporary toilet block installed during the works on Western Gardens.
Major changes like the demolition of the Western Gardens cafe and toilets, and the signalised junction at George Street, remain in the plans — against the wishes of those not in favour of the scheme.
Bob White, a retired highways engineer, who presented a petition to get the schemes approved through the planning process at last month’s full council meeting, has slammed the revised plans. Mr White said ‘”if you tinker with a turkey, you won’t turn it into a swan” and that all the major failings, those of ‘safety, congestion and discrimination against the least able highway users’, remain.
He said it was a ‘scandal in the making’ with the Isle of Wight Council ‘failing to undertake the most basic of assessments’ and ‘deceiving’ the public by failing to offer visualisations of the scheme.
Calling Ryde Town Council and the Isle of Wight Council ‘Ryde wreckers in the making’, Mr White said the designers of the scheme are putting vehicles before pedestrians and only ‘new eyes will create a beautiful alternative’.
Isle of Wight Council officers have assured councillors they have and will continue to follow appropriate planning procedures and that the consultation has provided an opportunity for all to be involved in the development of the scheme. They said this has helped ensure the best decision is made about the project.
Mr White also submitted his own version of the highways scheme, which included turning part of the Esplanade into a one-way system, but council officers responded saying it had inherent difficulties and did not give cause for a fundamental rethink.
The Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet is recommended to approve the scheme at its meeting t), with work potentially starting in early 2022 if the project gets the go-ahead.
Pure coincidence of course that a very recent ex-councillor owns most of the businesses along Ryde seafront, and was the main councils ex business leader.
So, whatever the public want will count for nothing. FACT
the council need to remember – we do not want this scheme or any changes to be made – it is fine as it is. They are to adhere to the wishes of the residents or find theirselves out of jobs shortly.
There is no need to do anything – all it will create is more traffic, more pollution, more disruption and more damage to the environment by digging everything up and to achieve what exactly – a vanity project for a few councillors that will no doubt benefit from meeting expenses.
take heed councillors – implement the wishes of the electorate or be removed from office, as incompetents.
Why then has Phil Jordan (Councillor for Ryde North West where the scheme is, and cabinet member for Transport and Infrastructure, and thus driving the scheme) recently said:
“I know that the vast majority of people are behind the project…”
You can’t both be right
residents provided a petition with a large number of names against it – councillor jordan did no survey of the islanders and as such has no reliable data with which to make his claim.
perhaps he could quantify how he arrived at the statement “the vast majority” vast majority of who – the councillors he speaks with?
as he did not study or poll and there is no data to refer to, then he made it up.
I hope there is at least one councillor at the decision meeting which raises this issue.
A councillor shouldn’t be making statements about overall public views if he/she can’t back it up.
If this does go through please do not let island roads have anything to do with it or every road in Ryde will be closed and a good ten years of disruption concentrated in the Summer while they drag out the job for as long as possible as usual
Sorry to say this, but Island roads are taking £5.4m of the £10m to do their thing here. They are even being invited to start the outside-tendering work without a contract so the Council will have no defence when they overspend.
The design has ensured we have an extra 1.2km roads down there, which we then pay them to retarmac every few year up to 2038.
Ringway Island Roads are 75% owned by a french tarmac company called Eurovia, who provide the service and suck every penny away si there’s no profit. It is a license to print money, encouraged by the officers in highways that put this plan together in 2018
Having won the grant funding, the council have to spend it. If they don’t, they are unlikely to get future grant funding.
They did not carry out the consultation properly in the first place and are now bullying it through.
The layout is fine and has worked for years.
We don’t more freakin traffic lights either, we want to save the planet, not sit about idling like at that st marys blunder that was forced upon us.
Why not use the money to build a new bus/train station on the existing footprint and either rebuild the toilets or refresh them.
why are people so against this idea ? I think it makes everything more accesible and lets be honest that Horse shoe roundabout is not really the safest especially when you see how even islanders still get caught in the wrong lane when going to the Pier, For me it is trial by eroor, when i lived in newport i was fully agaisnt the changes to st mary’s round about and actually i think now it is a much easier and safer way of travelling. Changes will alwyas be made to areas and it is about finding out what works. People should bot just shut things off especially when we have no idea if in the long run it is going to help and keep people safe.
keep people safe – get a grip – there hasn’t been any problems on the sea front in well over a decade – therefore the existing system is working just as those designed it, expected it to – do not fix what isn’t broken.
A major roundabout in a city (sorry town) is not a seafront Island shop window. As Bob says in the article there’s no design visualisations, no aesthetics, just plans which slavishly do what the bus company wants.
A complete waste of money. Put the money towards local bus services such as St Lawrence.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, if they want to improve it, then return it to how it used to be before they made it what it is now. Which is worse than it used to be. Now they want to make it worse again. It won’t make any difference of course how many people object. Where money is concerned, everything else goes out the window. People’s wishes and concerns amount to nothing when they stand in the way of money.
Just leave it alone, it is fine as it is, we like it. It is nothing but change for changes sake. The money you have been given is burning a whole in your pocket, just give the money back and say “thanks but no thanks” !
The council are riding rough shot over everyone and everything, you are not the Mafia, even tho you have dillusions of grandeur. Do what the people demand !
And do it now ! You are a disgrace to democracy ! Sickening !
Update: Last nights meeting was delayed due to COVID which gives us (those who want a better design or nothing changed) more time to raise this issue with the independent media sources.
Please contact Grant Shapps- minister for transport, your MP Bob Seely, your Ryde Town Councillor, and your Isle of Wight Councillor, don’t just bleat here.