Beeston tram works will cause major disruption, but "will be worth it"
RE-ROUTED buses and congestion on roads will prove a major inconvenience during tram works in Beeston, residents fear.
But for many, the end outcome will be worth the disruption.
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Tram
WATCH: Brian Taylor talk about the tram works
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The way traffic, including buses, travel around the town centre will be altered for about a year from Monday, March 25.
There was a general sense of concern over this at a public drop-in session in The Pearson Centre today.
Pensioner Pam Brown, didn’t want to give her exact age of Marlborough Road, was among those expressing her worries.
She said: “There won’t be major issues getting into the city, but it is coming back where I will be affected.
“It seems I will have either a long walk or will have to go to the bus station and then get another bus. It will be disruptive.”
Margaret Jones, 72, was equally worried. She said: “It will make life difficult. I will have to walk a much longer way home and I struggle to get around at the best of times.
“But I think it will be worth it in the long run.”
The new tram line is being constructed through Beeston to Chilwell.
The traffic diversions will allow for the next phase of work, including moving utility services, installing tracks and building tram stops.
The changes include:
*Middle Street, between Station Road and Regent Street, becoming one-way for traffic heading eastbound away from Beeston towards Nottingham.
*Middle Street, between Station Road and Dovecote Lane, becoming one-way for traffic heading westbound away from Beeston to Chilwell.
*Dovecote Lane, between Middle Street and Leslie Avenue, becoming one-way for traffic heading south from the town centre.
*Chilwell Road and High Road, between Middle Street and Cator Lane/Meadow Lane being unavailable to through-traffic.
Rod Sladen, 64, of Beeston, was studying the maps at yesterday’s drop-in carefully.
He said: “I am pro-tram but the roadworks are going to cause difficulty. There are some big holes in the plans for re-routing buses.
“But I think the tram will be good for Beeston so we just have to put up with it.”
Alan Rogers, 56, of Chilwell, said: “There’s not a lot you can do really. It is a big project so it is bound to cause disruption. The tram will be great. It will be such an easy form of transport.”
Heather Sharp, 36, of Chilwell, wasn’t so approving, saying: “It’s going to be a mess. I don’t see the need for the tram. We have a perfectly good bus route.”
Tram operators Nottingham Express Transit and contractors Taylor Woodrow Alstom have pledged to keep disruption to a minimum.
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