THE county council has pledged to “expedite” a solution to road traffic chaos exacerbated by airport parking and hundreds of HGV quarry lorries travelling along a village road in Essex – two years after the issue was first raised reports the Local Democracy Reporter.

The promise from the highways cabinet chief at Essex County Council to resolve the situation on Parsonage Road in Takeley comes just three days after a multi-vehicle accident on Monday on the same stretch of road.

Residents and the parish council say they want red lines added to stop people parking there and then going on holiday. The local highways panel has been told there has been an increase in the volume of cars parking along Parsonage Road in Takeley.

The county council has said it is working to introduce a scheme that “best meets the needs of all road users”. Red lines would mean no stopping or parking.

Cabinet member for highways Mark Platt told full council on Thursday he wants the highways department to expedite a solution to the problem which he says he finds “alarming”.

But in letter to county councillor for the area Susan Barker he said the county council needs to create official bus stops – currently they are using unofficial stops but there are issues with some of these locations and further review is required.

Takeley parish councillor and local resident Jackie Cheetham met with the previous highways cabinet member Councillor Tom Cunningham last November and was told that the scheme would be implemented by the end of January.

Stansted Airport has agreed to pay for the £22k cost of the Essex County Council led scheme red lines.

The parish council say there is a generalised airport parking problem, including a constant feature of 10 to 15 cars parked nose to tail, on the approach to a roundabout and a bridge over the A120.

This reduces the width of the road, making it single-track and causing vehicles to face oncoming traffic as they pass the obstruction, sometimes mounting the curb on the wrong side of the road.

To add to the chaos on this road, it is the established HGV route to quarries in Elsenham, currently running at capacity, and bringing up to 400 HGVs a day along this route, often in convoys of three or four.

She said: “This matter needs to be addressed urgently. Since the deadline passed, resident anxiety has increased and the Parish Council has no answers to the daily questions from the public.”

Councillor Mark Platt, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable

Transport, said: “I was very pleased to visit the area with your representative Councillor Susan Barker and witnessed those HGVs hauling the the items from the quarry we are tailgated most of the way through some of our experiences.

“I’ve seen the photographs of what happened on Monday I’m very disappointed in that and I’ve asked officers to expedite the situation which I find quite alarming.”

Categ