Airtrack Proposal

Your CommentsThe main comments wereceived from people wereabout level crossings, Felthamdepot, disruption in Stainestown centre and the effecton Staines Moor.Level CrossingsTraffic delays at level crossingswere a concern at the locationswhere the barriers are currentlydown for a large part of the hour.It is recognised that HeathrowAirtrack services would add to theproblem. Following the feedbackreceived, we have had furtherdiscussions with the relevantlocal authorities, Network Rail andthe highway authorities to seehow this issue could be addressed.In February and March 2009,Surrey County Council andBAA surveyed the worst affectedlevel crossings in Egham, PooleyGreen and Staines to gaina better understanding of roadtraffic problems. RunnymedeBorough Council is now leadinginvestigations involving BAA,Network Rail, Surrey CountyCouncil and others to explorepossible solutions both to existingproblems and the effect of theadditional trains should HeathrowAirtrack services commence.In Richmond we have been unableto undertake similar surveys jointlywith the Council because ofThames Water works in thefour affected roads. The firstopportunity for reliable surveysis likely to be in September 2009.When we have results of thesesurveys we will discuss the optionswith the London Borough ofRichmond and the other authorities,though the range of possiblesolutions is likely to be morelimited than in Runnymede.Wokingham Borough Council isconsidering the issue as part of itstransport strategy for the stationarea and housing proposals forsouth Wokingham.Feltham DepotLocal residents in the areasurrounding the depot site weremainly concerned about thedisruption the new depot mightbring, as well as the impact onthe nature conservation area.We are addressing these concernsby designing the depot to limitnoise and light pollution andlandscape screening wouldbe provided around the site.Although the depot would takeover half of the existing site, asmuch as possible would be doneto protect the most importantareas of habitat by moving themto unaffected parts of the site.Heathrow Airtrack would alsocontribute to the Council’senhancement proposals for thispart of the Crane Valley once thedepot has been built.Staines Town CentreSome respondents wereconcerned about the amountof disruption that the schemewould cause in the town centreduring and after construction.Comments were also receivedabout car parking spaces beinglost and the need to provideadditional car parking forHeathrow Airtrack passengers.We have been working withSurrey County Council on thehighway layout in South Streetand with Spelthorne BoroughCouncil and the owners of theElmsleigh Centre, to ensure thatthe shopping centre and its carparks can operate efficientlyboth during and after theworks, although there wouldbe some unavoidable disruptionduring construction.In particular, the access rampacross South Street to theElmsleigh Centre multi storey carpark would need to be replacedand we are working to ensure itwill only be out of action for asshort a time as possible. Whilethe new ramp is built we wouldprovide temporary accessthrough the Tothill multi storeycar park.We are proposing to remodelStaines station forecourt toprovide a transport interchangewith better facilities for buses,taxis, drop off areas, disabledaccess and cyclists.We are also proposing to retaindedicated office space and parkingfor existing South West Trains’staff and disabled passengers atthe station. Parking for the generalpublic would be moved to theexisting Kingston Road car parka short distance away.There are no proposals to provideadditional public car parking inStaines or dedicated parkingadjacent to the station as it wouldattract increased traffic into thecentre of Staines.We are considering measuresto reduce additional noise thatmay arise from trains on the linebetween Staines town centreand Staines Moor.6 7