5. Transport

5.1 Consultation Results

The village shuttle bus received overwhelmingly good feedback; whilst some people feel it is underused, for others it is a life-line. Transport is a difficult issue in a remote area where most, but not all, people have a car. Currently train and bus services are not reliable, frequent or extensive enough to make a viable alternative to car use, so numbers using these services are low. People suggested solutions like a community minibus, or expanding the shuttle service to include school runs and tourists’ runs. Other transport suggestions included: Silverdale station to be a request stop; the shuttle to meet all trains; a village car park; and a lower speed limit through the village centre.

5.2 Action Group Report

The group found that very few of the issues can be viewed in isolation and identified links between them. They found that the Silverdale Shuttle was very much appreciated by those that used it, not only for meeting trains but also for moving around the village to visit and to shop. It is also used as a school bus and is very useful for school-children who use trains to Lancaster and Ulverston.

The key problems that the group felt needed to be addressed were:

  • Lack of bus shelters and kerbs to assist low access buses, especially in the village centre
  • Congestion caused by parked cars in the village centre and near the school
  • Lack of parking in the village centre, except on private land or the highway; there is an urgent need for an off-street car-park for use by shoppers and by staff and longer term visitors
  • Dominance of car use for delivering children to and from school
  • Inadequate station car-park which does not encourage train use
  • Unsafe pedestrian and disabled access to and from the station, including from the RSPB centre.
  • Need for improvements to the train service, including more trains stopping at Silverdale and better weekend services.
  • Improvements to the shuttle service so it meets all trains and runs on Sundays
  • Speeding on the many narrow lanes and conflict with walkers for whom they are unpleasant and unsafe.

The Countryside Action Group also made some recommendations relating to speeding and traffic signs and their proposals are also included below.

5.3 Actions

5.3.1 Short Term

Buses

  1. Review current routing of the shuttle bus and investigate whether the service could meet all trains.
  2. Increase publicity for the full range of bus services now available
  3. Include a bus shelter in the future layout plans for the village centre

Car-parking

  1. Investigate potential sites for car-parking.
  2. Ensure that adequate car-parking for short and long term users (as estimated from surveys) is included on plans to improve the village centre as part of a coordinated Parking Plan.
  3. Investigate the use of the Masonic Lodge and the church car-park for school drop off and pick up parking.
  4. Regularise the use of the Royal car-park in exchange for visual improvements.
  5. Carry out a survey of car-parking requirements

The School

  1. Investigate a No Waiting scheme on Emesgate Lane (combined with above car-parking arrangements) in order to deal with the school parking problem.
  2. Encourage more walking to school.

5.3.2 Medium Term

Buses

  1. Investigate introduction of Sunday bus services for the shuttle and other routes.
  2. Raise pavements to enable bus stops to be used by new low access buses.

Speed Limits / Traffic Management

  1. Reduce maximum speed on all roads in the parish from 60 to 40mph.
  2. Introduce 20mph speed limits on those “walk lanes” most frequently used by walkers and cyclists and where road safety would be significantly improved.
  3. Introduce 30mph speed limits on other roads where the current 60 mph limit causes problems for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.
  4. Review existing signing and consider removing signs which send traffic down “walk lanes” (e.g. Bottoms Lane is signed to Arnside from Stankelt Road), or are unnecessary and intrusive, so as to protect the visual amenity of the AONB.
  5. Organise a campaign to increase the awareness of Silverdale residents of the dangers of speeding, since many of the speeding motorists appear to be local people. (Countryside Group recommendation)
  6. Better signposting at the T-junction at the top of New Road to help heavy lorries (e.g. builders merchants deliveries), some of whom are getting lost in their approach to the village. (Countryside Group recommendation)

5.3.3 Long Term

  1. Achieve a safe network of routes for walkers, cyclists and horses using a combination of existing and new Rights of Way and traffic calmed “walk lanes”.
  2. Alter the present layout of Slackwood junction so as to reduce accident potential
  3. Investigate measures to prevent Bottoms Lane being used as a short cut to/from Carnforth.
  4. On Stankelt Road, while keeping the narrow/ traffic calming section, investigate measures to improve pedestrian safety.