Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

A27 Polegate Bypass

Report May 2003

3. Results

Traffic Counts Local Area

3.1 Figure 3.1 below, shows a summary of the 'Before and 'After ATC results in the local area of Polegate. The traffic volumes illustrated represent 24 hourly volumes for an average weekday.

3.2 Figure 3.1 shows the 24 hour traffic volumes for an average weekday at four locations around Polegate. The diagram shows that in the first week of opening, the bypass was used by some 23,500 vehicles (two-way). In the first week of opening other effects were observed, these were:

• Reductions of nearly 10,500 (54%) vehicles on the old A27 Hailsham Road through Polegate where two-way traffic volumes fell from 19,400 to 8,900 vehicles per day;
• North of Polegate, the A22 ATC site shows an increase from nearly 25,000 vehicles per day to 30,400, an increase of 22%; and
• Similarly, the A27 (T) ATC east of Polegate shows an increase from 9,200 to 12,900, an increase of nearly 40%.
• Clearly, additional traffic had been drawn into the corridor in that the 23,500 vehicles per day using the new A27 bypass, has not been matched by a 23,500 reduction through the town. The increase in traffic observed on the A22 north of Polegate and the A27 east of the town confirmed that extra vehicles were using these roads to access the new bypasses. There are however significant reductions on parallel routes such as the B2104 and A2270 and these are discussed below.

3.3 To identify the origins of this additional traffic, traffic counts were obtained for other roads in the area, and this goes some way to explaining the traffic flow changes identified for this local area.

Traffic Counts Wider Area

3.4 The traffic data obtained from East Sussex County Council and Highways Agency permanent count sites demonstrates that there have been changes to the traffic patterns in the Polegate and Eastbourne area following the opening of the A27 (T) Polegate Bypass and A22 County Road. These changes are illustrated in Figure 3.2 below.

3.5 A summary table showing 5-day average two way traffic flows in the months from May to September and the differences in traffic volume over this period is contained in Annex A of this report.

3.6 In order to explain the main effects of the schemes, we have compared traffic volumes collated in May and September, and thus the changes should exclude effects of 'build-up and the effects of the scheme opening in the holiday season. 'Build-up is a recognised reaction to a new highway scheme, whereby the true demand is not met for a few weeks after opening as drivers get to know the new route and the potential benefits to their journey that the new roads may bring.

3.7 We outline below the main effects shown in Figure 3.2 across the seven screenlines as identified in the previous section. Each screenline represents a set of individual count sites and help to explain traffic movements along corridors or groups of corridors.

Screenline 1 West of Polegate / Eastbourne

• The A27 west of Polegate has shown a slight increase in traffic flow of 1,400 vehicles per day, increasing from 21,100 vehicles per day (vpd) to 22,500 vpd, an increase of 7%;
• The A22 shows no change in traffic volumes between May and September; but
• The A259 shows a reduction of 900 vehicles between May and September, the traffic volumes have reduced from 13,800 to 12,900 vehicles per day, a reduction of 7%.
• A significant amount of additional traffic has not been drawn into the corridor, across Screenline 1. There has been no switch from the A22/A271 route running north of Hailsham onto the A27, however there is evidence of a transfer of traffic from the A259 to the A27.

Screenline 2 East of Pevensey

• There is a decrease of 1,100 vehicles per day from 10,900 to 9,800 vpd (10%) on the A271 at Boreham Street between May and September;
• The A259 Middle Bridge shows a corresponding increase in traffic of 1,100 vehicles per day, increasing from 19,800 to 20,900 vpd.
• Daily traffic volumes crossing Screenline 2 has therefore remained constant at 30,700 vehicles per day, with evidence of a transfer of traffic from the A271 to the A259 Middle Bridge. There has therefore been no additional traffic drawn into the corridor due to the opening of the new routes.

Screenline 3 West of Pevensey

• There is an increase of 4,400 vehicles on A27 east of the new scheme, changing from 9,000 vpd to 13,400 vpd, an increase of 49%;
• There is a decrease of nearly 2,700 trips on the B2191 through Pevensey & Westham, changing from 10,900 to 8,230 vehicles per day, a decrease of 24%.
• The A259 Pevensey Bay Road has also shown a decrease, falling from 16,700 to 15,200 vpd, a reduction of 1,500 (9%) vehicles per day;
• Therefore, there has been negligible new traffic generated by the scheme and the opening of the A27/A22 schemes has led to a switch of traffic from the B2191 and A259 onto the A27 and in many cases onto the A22 New Route.

Screenline 4 North of Polegate

• Unfortunately there is no before data in May for the A22 north of the Polegate Bypass, as the Automatic Count Site (ATC) was removed to enable construction of the Nightingale Farm section of dual carriageway. However this site was working again in June and data for June 1-18 is used to represent the before situation.
• Traffic volumes on the A22 have increased from nearly 25,000 vehicles per day in June (First two weeks only) prior to the bypass opening, to nearly 33,000 vehicles per day in September (Four week average), which represents an increase of nearly 8,000 vehicles per day or 32%. This increase is higher than the local area assessment (paragraph 3.2 on Page 10), which showed an increase of 22% from nearly 25,000 to over 30,000 vehicles per day in the first week of the bypass opening, clearly suggesting a build up of traffic on the A22 over the first four months.
• However, there is a significant decrease of over 5,000 vehicles per day on B2104 Ersham Road between Hailsham and Langney, where traffic volumes have decreased from 10,800 vehicles per day to 5,660 vehicles per day, a fall of 48%;
• The traffic volumes show a major switch of traffic from the B2104 to A22 to access the new schemes. There are still 2,900 vehicles unaccounted for across this Screenline in that the increase on the A22 is greater than the decrease on the B2104. Some of this traffic may have come from The A271 and the A267 north of Hailsham, and the rest from traffic rerouting from the unclassified roads south of Hailsham across the Pevensey Levels.

Screenline 5 South of Polegate

• In September, there were over 22,000 vehicles per day observed on the new A22 County scheme;
• To balance this increase, the largest reduction in flow is observed on the B2104 Friday Street, North of Langney where traffic volumes fall 10,500 vpd from 25,600 vpd 15,100 vpd, a fall of over 40%;
• There is also a reduction of 5,000 vehicles per day on the A2270 through Willingdon, where daily traffic volumes have dropped from 29,700 to 24,700, a fall of 17%;
• Thus, there has been a major shift of traffic from parallel roads onto the new A22, but the traffic volumes on the new scheme of 22,600 vehicles per day is still 7,100 vehicles per day larger than traffic volume reductions observed elsewhere on this screenline. Although this difference is explored in screenline 7, it is possible that the majority of the traffic that has switched from the B2104 Ersham Road, south of Hailsham, on to the A22 north of Polegate will have continued down the A22 new route. In addition, some of the traffic switching onto the A27 west of Polegate from the A259 would continue into Eastbourne on the A22 new route. The remaining shortfall is likely to be a combination of local Polegate traffic and traffic from the minor roads crossing Pevensey Levels.

Screenline 6 North-East of Eastbourne Town Centre

• Assessment of Screenline 6 was made to check if traffic volumes into / out of Eastbourne from the north-east had been radically affected by the new A27 and A22 schemes,
• There has been a reduction of 400 vehicles per day on the U2236 in Hampden Park, where trips have fallen from 3,800 in May to 3,400 in September, a reduction of 11%;
• There is an increase of 1,100 vehicles per day on the A259 at Seaside Road, where traffic volumes have increased from 30,100 vehicles per day to 31,200 vehicles per day, a increase of around 4% or 408 vehicles per day;
• To balance this increase, there is an decrease of 1,000 vehicles per day on Royal Parade parallel with the A259 at Seaside Road;
• There has also been a small increase of 800 vehicles per day on the A2280 Cross Levels Way which represents an increase of only 3% and this is balanced by the decrease on the U2236 Neville Avenue in Hampden Park.
• The traffic volumes show a switch from the minor roads in Hampden Park and Royal Parade to the A2280 Cross Levels Way and the A259 Seaside. Traffic crossing the screenline has stayed at the same levels since the scheme has opened, suggesting that the A22 New Route is primarily used to access the eastern side of Eastbourne. However, it is possible that additional traffic from the A22 is accessing the town centre via shortcuts through the Roselands area to avoid the A259 Seaside Road.

Screenline 7 North & East of Eastbourne / South of Polegate

• Screenline 7 is a combination of sites a, b, & c from Screenline 5 and b&c from Screenline 3. This screenline gives a clear indication of how traffic flows entering Eastbourne on all available classified routes has changed since the opening of the A22 New Route.
• Significant amounts of traffic have transferred from the A259 and the B2191 onto the A27 and in many cases onto the A22 new route. In addition, traffic has transferred from the A2270 and B2104 onto the A22 new route;
• Traffic volumes crossing this screenline have increased by 4% and the volume of traffic on the A22 new route is greater than the reductions experienced elsewhere on the screenline which suggests that additional traffic has been drawn onto the A22 new route. The additional traffic, approximately 3,000 trips, is likely to be made up of vehicles from Stone Cross, the Wannock and Lower Willingdon area and by traffic travelling across Pevensey Levels.

Traffic Volumes in Summer Months

3.8 Annex A contains average weekday flows for each month (where available) between May and September. Rather surprisingly for this recognised tourist destination, the traffic volumes in July and August are not significantly higher than for other months.

3.9 In order to investigate this further, Annex B summarises average daily flows for three sites in the area for August and September. This comparison has been made to assess whether weekend flows in August are higher than for September. This shows that:

• Only one of the three sites, the A27 East of Pevensey has August weekend flows higher than for September. This site shows that Saturday and Sunday traffic volumes in August are 22% higher than in September; but
• The other two sites, the A259 at East Dean and the A22 North of Polegate, show little or no change in weekend traffic volumes between August and September.

3.10 There may be many reasons for this, which may include:

• The number of additional tourist journeys in the area, are balanced by fewer journeys made by local residents;
• Traditionally, most non-tourist towns or cities show a fall of traffic in August due to many residents not being at work, thus this effect may be counterbalancing the influx of tourists. 3.11 Clearly, this is supposition based on little evidence, but may be considered further as part of the 1-Year After Study.

Journey Times & Speeds

3.12 In order to compare journey times and speeds, journey time information collected in February 2001, as part of the 'Before surveys, has been compared to information collected in the week after the scheme opening. As daily traffic volumes are likely to be slightly larger in July 2002 (as a result of tourist traffic) than in February 2001, the differences in journey times and speeds shown here are likely to be conservative.

3.13 A summary of the results from the journey time surveys is included in Annex A for comparison between 'Before and 'After results.

3.14 Table 3.1 below compares the new A27 route travel times (i.e. between the roundabouts at each end of the scheme) and the equivalent journey on the old A27 route, measured before the A27 Bypass was open. This highlights a best journey time saving of some 4 minutes in the am and pm westbound peaks.

3.15 Taking into consideration the changes in route length and comparing journey times in February 2001 with July 2002, Figure 3.3 shows that average speeds have increased between 8 kph and 20 kph in the am peak period. A full list of timings can be found in Annex A.