Swanage’s town centre traffic experiment is to be scrapped from today, so the one way flow of traffic in Kings Road East will be reversed back to what it used to be, before the Institute Road roadworks took place.
So drivers are being warned that they can no longer turn into Kings Road East from Kings Road West near the Co-op. Traffic will now only be allowed to flow one way, heading out of town from the High Street.
Go via Station Road and the newly rebuilt Institute Road
Vehicles coming into town that wish to head towards Swanage Pier and south Swanage, must all go via Station Road and the newly rebuilt Institute Road.
The experimental traffic plan to reverse the direction of traffic along Kings Road East, was originally proposed so that residents in the south of Swanage would be able to take an alternative route to their homes, avoiding the busy Institute Road.
However the trial revealed that the scheme forced large lorries to go along a narrow stretch of the High Street by the Legion or to try to get round a tight bend in Church Hill.
Higher volume of traffic along the High Street
It also led to a much higher volume of traffic along the High Street, which made it harder for pedestrians to cross, particularly for children walking to Swanage Primary School in Mount Scar.
Swanage Town Council had originally asked Dorset Council to try out the scheme but at its last council meeting, councillors unanimously decided to request an end to the experiment. Speaking at the time, Swanage Mayor, Mike Bonfield said:
“We solved one problem but caused six more problems. We tried it but it is dangerous and I’m happy to tell the people of Swanage that Kings Road East needs to go back to the way it was.”
