|
The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Stonehenge and its Environs » Highways England Consultation - A303/Stonehenge |
Log In to post a reply
|
|
|
|
| Topic View: Flat | Threaded | |
|
nigelswift 8112 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 08:35
|
||
|
Not "almost", exclusive. This is great (the reasons not to do it, if not his solution) http://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/01/the-stonehenge-tunnel-is-monumental-folly/ The great thing is he was head of the NT until recently.
|
|||
|
Evergreen Dazed 1881 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 09:14
|
||
|
Probably a deeply unfashionable thing to say, but I love driving, and being able to glimpse stonehenge from the road is one example of the type of things that go towards the feeling of adventure, freedom and excitement that comes from being able to drive around the country. Driving down to the west country and that feeling of still being on the path of the old roads of england, however misguided. It's important to me, but I realise not everybody would care about that. I can understand locals being thoroughly sick of the traffic. It must be hellish in the summer if you live around there. But i'm not convinced a tunnel is going to solve anything much in that sense, but it seems certain it will destroy plenty in the SH landscape. The one-way solution may help. I thought perhaps a toll might help too, but it would probably just move the traffic problem to somebody elses village. Does anybody have access to a report on the direct disturbance or damage to scheduled monuments in the area? The overall damage to the archaeology is something I suppose nobody can accurately predict.
|
|||
juamei 2013 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 09:30
|
||
|
I took the family on a detour past Stonehenge last summer on our way to Dorset. I regretted it within 20 mins when I got to the back of a jam with nowhere to go. An hour, a telling off and a sunset hidden by trees later, we drove very slowly past the stones. The kids were not that impressed at some looming black shapes... Very long tunnel ftw
|
|||
Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 09:31
|
||
|
tjj wrote: And then of course there is the cynical opinion that a tunnel would give EH/NT almost sole rights to the 'view of Stonehenge'. I don't think that's being cynical ay all June. We travel from Cornwall to Winchester to my Mother-In-Law about a dozen times a year. Because I like to think we are sensible we only go the henge way outside of the summer months. There are three main routes from the west country (see below) so we pick and choose. Others can do the same. The extra distance is easily made up by the time you save from waiting in a queue! There have been times when we purposely go via the A303 to simply get a view of the henge on a lovely day and take a few pix as we trickle by. If not driving I've been known to get out of the car, set a tripod up and take more pix!! Far, far too much is being made of this issue and you seriously have to ask why so we have every right to be cynical. I've always said it and will continue to do so - all of this is to deny people seeing the henge without paying! https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes/Route-London-_-Greater_London-United_Kingdom-to-Cornwall-United_Kingdom?strStartLocid=31NDFhcWsxMGNOVEV1TlRBd01qUT1jTFRBdU1USTNNRFk9&strDestLocid=3aMTEydTIxMGNOVEF1TWpZek16ST1jTFRVdU1EVXhNRGM9
|
|||
thesweetcheat 6214 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 13:12
|
||
|
Agree with all of this (despite being a non-driver I totally get the thing about following old roads). It seems to me that any of the options for change proposed are probably worse than leaving things as they are. The PM has said in another context that "a bad deal is worse than no deal" and I can't help thinking that ought to be the case with this issue. Any of the proposed changes seem to be bound to cost a massive amount of money and cause irreversible destruction, the only difference is the scale of cost and the scale of the destruction. As any project manager will tell you, you should always consider the "do nothing" option. As tjj says, the problem is the volume of cars, sticking them in a tunnel isn't going to change that. From the plans released with the consultation documents, it's hard to believe there won't be damage to at least some of the scheduled monuments (esp. at the north end of Normanton), irrespective of the damage to the wider archaeology, which they can't really begin to calculate until they start digging it all up.
|
|||
|
nigelswift 8112 posts |
Jan 19, 2017, 13:26
|
||
|
"Probably a deeply unfashionable thing to say, but I love driving, and being able to glimpse stonehenge from the road ...." Not unfashionable at all. It's one of the Great Views and it would be entirely lost. "Does anybody have access to a report on the direct disturbance or damage to scheduled monuments in the area?" Proximity to Blick Mead and disruption of the Winter solstice spectacle are 2 issues but of course if you dig anywhere there you wreck something and what that will be is yet to be known..
|
|||
|
Evergreen Dazed 1881 posts |
Jan 22, 2017, 09:14
|
||
|
It is difficult to accurately predict of course, but surely a vital thing to work out is whether, if the view to the stones was lost, would traffic be reduced? As in, if the tunnel was built would there still be the same volume of traffic on that road? If so, then that does support the case for a *long* tunnel. Or is it the case that the 303 is only so busy because people divert to it so they can see the stones? Imagine the building of a tunnel at great expense financially and archaeologically, only to find the traffic using it is 50% of what it was. If this were the case (I suppose you could get close to a decent answer with survey) then perhaps a one way or toll system would work out to be the better option?
|
|||
tjj 3606 posts |
Jan 22, 2017, 10:02
|
||
|
Evergreen Dazed wrote: It is difficult to accurately predict of course, but surely a vital thing to work out is whether, if the view to the stones was lost, would traffic be reduced? As in, if the tunnel was built would there still be the same volume of traffic on that road? If so, then that does support the case for a *long* tunnel. Or is it the case that the 303 is only so busy because people divert to it so they can see the stones? Imagine the building of a tunnel at great expense financially and archaeologically, only to find the traffic using it is 50% of what it was. If this were the case (I suppose you could get close to a decent answer with survey) then perhaps a one way or toll system would work out to be the better option? I don't live in that part of Wiltshire but can understand how difficult this road issue is for local people. I have seen a small video of the route of the proposed Salisbury by-pass which would take the bulk of the south bound traffic away the Stonehenge section of the A303 - which perhaps could then just be used for local traffic. Restricting the view of the Stones does seem to be an unspoken agenda. Again, I have to ask this question because am not knowledgeable of the area, would a by-pass go across MOD land and would that not throw up yet more obstacles??.
|
|||
|
Evergreen Dazed 1881 posts |
Jan 22, 2017, 22:25
|
||
|
tjj wrote: Evergreen Dazed wrote: It is difficult to accurately predict of course, but surely a vital thing to work out is whether, if the view to the stones was lost, would traffic be reduced? As in, if the tunnel was built would there still be the same volume of traffic on that road? If so, then that does support the case for a *long* tunnel. Or is it the case that the 303 is only so busy because people divert to it so they can see the stones? Imagine the building of a tunnel at great expense financially and archaeologically, only to find the traffic using it is 50% of what it was. If this were the case (I suppose you could get close to a decent answer with survey) then perhaps a one way or toll system would work out to be the better option? I don't live in that part of Wiltshire but can understand how difficult this road issue is for local people. I have seen a small video of the route of the proposed Salisbury by-pass which would take the bulk of the south bound traffic away the Stonehenge section of the A303 - which perhaps could then just be used for local traffic. Restricting the view of the Stones does seem to be an unspoken agenda. Again, I have to ask this question because am not knowledgeable of the area, would a by-pass go across MOD land and would that not throw up yet more obstacles??. No idea re MOD land i'm afraid. Not over familiar with the wider SH landscape myself, i'm avebury through and through ;)
|
|||
moss 2897 posts |
Jan 24, 2017, 10:37
|
||
|
Done deal? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-38716246
|
| Pages: 21 – [ Previous | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ] | Add a reply to this topic |
|
|
|
| The Modern Antiquarian Forum Index | |
