UPDATED Work is due to start on July 22 for up to seven weeks at Bitterne Park Triangle to “improve cycling access” by widening a section of footway between Whitworth Crescent and Cobden Bridge to make it a shared cycle way. Work is also taking place so “traffic signals respond better to demand”.
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The council says it's "part of our commitment to make cycling a safe, easy and attractive option to get around Southampton and follows the recent launch of our Green City Charter".
The Triangle work will cost £160,000 "and will be implemented using developer contributions from the former boat house Retirement Living redevelopment".
The entrance Riverside Park is also to be widened for better cyclist access, and once complete, the road will be reduced in width by several meters which will make crossing quicker.
And the improvements will also link signals to the “rapid bus network” where signals can be held on green for longer when an approaching bus is running behind its timetable.
The work is broken down over three phases, but Whitworth Crescent will be closed at its junction with Cobden Avenue throughout to provide storage and other facilities (although the sign suggests otherwise).
This is what will happen during the various phases of work, in Balfour Beatty’s own words:
Phase 1: 22 July for 4 weeks: will widen and resurface the southern footway and this will require the relocation of the traffic signals and their cabling. For this phase the road will be narrowed, and temporary traffic signals will be in place. We will aim to maintain two-way traffic along Cobden Avenue for as much of the time as we can. However, we may need to excavate across Cobden Avenue at the crossing for the park to replace the pipe/ducting holding the traffic signal cables. Our initial surveys indicate this may have collapsed but we will not know until we remove the old cabling. This means for some of the time the road may need to be narrowed to one lane as we excavate a trench to half way across the road.
Phase 2: 12 August for up to 2 weeks: will widen the entrance to the park and provide a new dropped kerb for cyclist from Cobden Bridge to use the toucan crossing or to enter the park. Depending on the condition of the cable ducting (see phase 1) we may need to excavate a trench across this half of the road to complete the replacement of the cables and ducting that span the crossing. This would mean for some of the time during this phase Cobden Avenue may be narrowed to one lane.
Phase 3: 19 August for 1 weeks: will be replacing the traffic signal cabling that spans Manor House Avenue at this location. This phase of work will require the closure of Manor Farm Road at the junction with Cobden Bridge and for safety reasons at the junction with Cobden Avenue (see map). The signed diversion route for Manor Farm Road will be via St Catherine’s Road for the duration of this phase.
At the end of phase 3, we will replace the lining at Bitterne Triangle (sic) overnight. At the junction with Manor Farm Road this will include a continuation of the eastbound cycle lane marking and new yellow hatching across the whole junction
You can see a map of the scheme on this council web page.
In March 2018 residents were consulted on various ideas for spending around £75,000 Section 106 money towards “improved pedestrian and cyclist facilities” at the Triangle from the McCarthy & Stone development by Cobden Bridge – as reported for example here and here. There were various ideas discussed at that stage, including creating pedestrianised areas.
Peartree Avenue work
Work is also taking place on a new shared use cycleway and footway on Peartree Avenue starting Monday,July 22 for seven weeks that the council says will:
- Creat a new shared use cycleway and footway on Peartree Avenue, between Angel Crescent and Chessel Avenue).
- Upgrade pedestrian and cycle crossing across Peartree Avenue.
"To carry out the work safely, this section of Peartree Avenue will become one-way only for the duration of the work. Traffic will be able to travel south-west, but north-eastbound traffic will be diverted via Athelstan Road and Bitterne Road West.
"Full information on works, closures and diversions is available from our website at: https://transport.
"The work, combined with improvements to Angel Crescent that have already been completed, will cost £300,000 to deliver and are funded from the Joint Air Quality Unit fund for a Clean Air Zone."
Updated 20/7/19 with further detail about Triangle scheme including funding details, and information about Peartree Avenue work