Land north of the A370 (Farleigh Road), Backwell

The site will be accessed by vehicles from a new signal-controlled access junction on the A370 Farleigh Road.

 

The proposed traffic-controlled junction on the A370

 

The proposed new junction has been designed following the relevant ‘Design Manual for Roads and Bridges’ (DMRB) standards for signal-controlled junctions It will have a design speed of 30mph as advised by North Somerset Council. Although the project team is confident that a junction could be safely introduced on this section of the A370, the proposed design of the access junction will be subject to a Stage 1 Road Safety Audit (RSA) to be agreed with North Somerset Council, undertaken by an independent, qualified Road Safety Auditor.

 

The impact of traffic generated by the development has been assessed under two scenarios: a worst-case ‘Business As Usual’ scenario – which does not account for vehicle trip reductions that would likely arise from changes in travel behaviour or the shift towards sustainable modes of transportation; and a ‘Sustainable Maximum’ scenario, where it is assumed that a range of sustainable transport improvements have been delivered.

 

Using both the Business As Usual and Sustainable Maximum data, capacity tests have been undertaken for the following junctions:

• A370 Farleigh Road / site access signalised junction
• Backwell Crossroads signalised junction
• Station Road railway line underbridge signalised junction
• Station Road / Queens Road junction (Nailsea)
• A370 Farleigh Road / Chapel Hill / Backwell Hill Road junction
• A370 Farleigh Road / Station Road junction (Flax Bourton)

The capacity assessments show that these junctions all operate within capacity in all the scenarios tested, with the exception of the Backwell Crossroads in the absence of the completed relief road.  Backwell Crossroads will be close to capacity when traffic from already-consented developments is factored in, and without the completed relief road, the addition of traffic from this development would mean the junction operates above theoretical capacity in the AM peak, by 9.7% using both the Business As Usual data and by 2.8% using the Sustainable Maximum data.  However, with the completed relief road in place, Backwell Crossroads is assessed to operate within capacity, not only when traffic from this development is added but when traffic is added from the rest of the proposed ‘Land east of Backwell’ allocation as well.