The long running saga of the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme seems to be reaching a conclusion. I have today received a letter from ‘Highways Staffordshire’ (new branding - new logo) explaining that they have considered all objections to the scheme and reached the following decisions.
The following proposals will be implemented: Traffic calming along Mount Avenue, Mount Street, Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street. Stonefield area weight restriction and parking restrictions adjacent to Meaford level crossing.
All proposals for Northesk Street and Dominic Street have been abandoned(thanks to a superb campaign of opposition by residents supported by the Independent group on Stone Town Council)

The scheme will be extensively monitored with the collection of further traffic speed/volume and accident data and if required the one way orders for Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street will be implemented (how’s that for a cop out?!)

Construction works are programmed for June 2008 and all affected frontagers will be notified.

I was a little apprehensive when I decided to arrange a meeting in the Station to see if there would be any support for my idea of forming a Friends of Stone Station group. Did any other people share my views on supporting the new service when it starts, hopefully, in December? Were there people who might volunteer to do a bit of weeding, planting, painting and cleaning - to make sure our station was attractive to potential customers? Were there any offers to deliver mini time tables and flyers to publicise the service? Or would I be the only one to turn up?

Well - I needn’t have worried! There were a couple of cars already outside the station last night when I arrived half an hour early and by the time we started the room was full and we were having to bring in extra chairs! Yes, there are people in Stone ( and surrounds) who feel as strongly as I do!

So after a very full and useful discussion it was agreed that a Friends group should be formed and that another meeting would be held in a couple of months to agree the formal structure and to formulate a plan of action.

Based on the interest and enthusiasm shown at this meeting I have no doubt that Friends of Stone Station is going to be a very active and succesful group.

I’ve been a member of the North Staffs Rail Promotion Group for several years now and there can be no doubt that much of the credit for the return of a stoppping service at Stone Station later this year is due to the hard work of this group. Last night’s meeting in Stone Station was a good example of the type of work they do.

We heard that stations on the Crewe - Stoke - Derby line would all soon have electronic passenger information boards; that representations were being made to include a late service into Stoke and that the Department of Transport had indicated that there were no plans to re-open Barlaston station. There are several members who know the rail industry inside out and it is fascinating (and reassuring) to hear arguments based on facts which are not widely available. I’m sure that the Department will soon be receiving further arguments on the latter two issues!

The meeting was also very useful because I was able to announce my intention to try to launch a ‘Friends of Stone Station’ group and to announce that the first meeting would be held in Stone Station on Wednesday 23rd April at 7.30 pm. The news was received with much enthusiasm and offers of help. I came away confident that the formation of a  ‘Friends’ group would be a positive step forward in promoting the station and the new service.

Today the final surface was being rolled flat on the tow path above Star Lock and I guess that the barriers will be removed later today. There is still a small stretch of work to be done below the Star but we are not far away from the whole scheme being completed.

Thanks to funding from Stone Market Town Initiative and British Waterways, the tow path from Workhouse Bridge to the end of Westbridge Park will be smooth tarmac, new moorings will be available alongside Westbridge Park and disabled access created into the park. A new winding point will also allow craft to turn below the lock thereby saving many thousands of gallons of water.

The only outstanding item will be the installation of signage. Following a meeting earlier in the week when the details for Information  Boards and Direction Signs were agreed, I am confident all signs will be in place well before the boating season starts in a couple of months time.

I’m sure the completed project will be much admired by townsfolk and visitors alike and will encourage more visitors to stay longer in the town.

Yesterday’s Newsletter carried a front page story that Staffordshire County Council had announced that the proposed one way system along Northesk Street has been abandoned. The plans were part of the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme and were opposed on the grounds that they would , in fact, create a rat run and exacerbate the problem rather than resolve it.

This is fantastic news for the neighbours who have battled hard for what seems an eternity to prevent the scheme being put into operation. I and my colleagues in Stone’s Independent Voice on the Town Council were very much involved in the campaign and it was very gratifying to read one resident expressing his thanks to us in the article. Local politicians are often taking the flack for all manner of problems - it’s very nice to receive a word of thanks now and then!

So Northesk Street escapes but the rest of the scheme appears to be going ahead. Whilst there will be some benefit for the residents of Tunley Street, Kings Avenue and Victor Street, I do wonder why Mount Avenue is considered appropriate for traffic calming. I’m not convinced that speed humps are the answer there. Time will tell

Staffordshire County Council’s proposals for the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme were unanimously condemned by last night’s Town Council Meeting. The issue was actually on the agenda but was pre-empted during Public Question Time when a resident of Northesk Street asked for the support of the council in objecting to the proposals.

I urged all councillors to support the request. I pointed out that the scheme appeared to solve a non existent problem. I was concerned at the waste of money on a scheme that no-one wanted. And I was appalled that traffic calming measures were planned for Mount Avenue, which no-one has asked for, whilst continued calls for traffic calming in other areas e.g  Longton Road, Newcastle Road and Eccleshall Road, have all been ignored. And I expressed my astonishment that, far from preventing ‘rat runs’, the scheme would actually encourage one - from Newcastle Street to Longton Road via Margaret Street, Dominic Street and Northesk Street.

Other councillors pointed out the nonsense of creating one way streets pointing towards the level crossing and the fact that the scheme had been designed without taking into account the change in traffic patterns created by the recent installation of traffic lights outside Langtry’s pub.

In a rare moment of accord, all members agreed to support the local residents by agreeing that the Council should write to the County Council lodging a formal objection to the scheme.

Illegal parkers beware! Anyone found parking illegally on yellow lines in Stone will be at risk of being issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice from today.

The police are no longer responsible for parking issues and Stafford Borough Council are now enforcement authority.  Stone’s traffic wardens have been spending the last couple of weeks training with their new equipment and issuing warning notices only -  ”firing blanks” as one of them called it!

 But from today it’s the real thing! So be warned - don’t take any chances on yellow lines. I am fully in favour of the new regime. Previously most drivers knew the police didn’t have the time or resources to issue tickets on a regular basis and many abused the yellow lines causing obstructions and delays. Now yellow lines should be doing the jobs the were designed for.