If you want to go through Ormskirk, or indeed anywhere in Ormskirk, you have to go through the one-way system which takes you through the worst two-way bottleneck known to man. Worse, it is right next to a huge and unique 900 year old church which consequently has bits falling off it all the time.
It consists of an uphill two-lane road, on a right then a left bend, that just goes "bump" into one lane. Locals know this and yes, they merge! But a lot don't and the road rage is amazing.
The town is way overdue for a bypass but there are strong political forces against it.
Not sure why but there are unseen forces at work!!
sorry for putting so many posts up but my verbal diarrhoea is now cured.
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Sounds like the locals havn't moaned about the volume of traffic going through it everyday.... or a school kid that has yet be run over because of a retired lollipop lady that has yet to be replaced there is one.
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There have been moves to build a bypass around Ormskirk for almost as long as I've been born - and that's a long time.
Apart from the overwhelming inconvenience of the road system, Ormskirk Hospital is becoming more important in the area's medical facilities.
However, most of the ambulance trips to Ormskirk from the coastal area involve using the A570, a single carriageway road that had considerable traffic throughout the year and, in summer, even higher levels.
What is particularly galling from the point of view of those who live in my town is that we more often than not have to drive past our own hospital because maternity, clinical appointments, children's A and E, some X-ray services and other medical needs have been switched to Ormskirk.
Even worse is that those who don't have personal transport and have to make their own way to Ormskirk face a public transport system that, frankly, is not geared whatsoever to their requirements.
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Bizarrely, A&E for grown-ups was closed at Ormskirk, so Ormskirk residents have to go to Southport.
I don't actually think Ormskirk needs a bypass, though it does need a redesign of its roads--a bypass is the easy answer to a very complex problem. I reckon most of the traffic issues are to do with shopping in Ormskirk itself and I suspect the planners/politicians know that too. A fast route past the town to the retail sheds at Kew would mean a) more congestion on the single carriageway A570, which would then require a major upgrade at huge expense and b) loss of business for Ormskirk's excellent shops.
On the other hand, the M58/M57 should probably be extended to the coast. That would shift a lot of the existing through traffic out of Ormskirk but retain the local stuff.
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I don't think Ormskirk's traffic problems are as a result of shopping within the town. It is well served by various car parks around the outskirts of the shopping area that mean it is not necessary to go around the entire one way system.
The root of the problem is you can't get to Southport from the M6/M58/Rainford Bypass/East Lancs Rd without passing through Ormskirk, unless you know the area well and are prepared to travel a few miles out of your way on rural roads.
I lived on the east side of Ormskirk for most of my life, within a hundred meters of so of the proposed route, my parents still do. Whenever I went to Southport I always went via Burscough via the rural roads becuase it was such a pain to get through Ormskirk.
I am broadly supportive of a bypass - I can't really see a way of remodelling Ormskirk centre because there are so many houses relatively close. The only possible solution would have been to run a road through where Morrisons is now and over Churchfields to the Fiveways which would alleviate the bottleneck by the church. The opportunity has gone now and it would never have been popular due to the loss of greenspace.
I agree with you that the problem with the current proposal is all it will do is move the bottleneck further up the A570. For the bypass to be fit for purpose, it really needs to come out at Kew roundabout. My Nan lived on Southport Rd just past the Crem for many years and in the summer on a nice day the traffic would back up past her house down towards the old Tesco's. An Ormskirk bypass will only serve to make that worse which is a real concern given the hospital situation now.
An extension of the M57 would be a reasonable solution, but realistically it's never going to happen.
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>>...it really needs to come out at Kew roundabout>>
No, no, no....:-)
This roundabout is already difficult to negotiate and has been ever since it was built; I know some drivers, especially women, who avoid it like the plague.
The main reason is that there are six roads leading into a modest sized roundabout with barely more than about three or four car lengths between each junction - the result, especially in summer, can be absolutely chaotic and minor, occasionally major, bumps frequent.
Having a major Tesco Extra store (used by customers from over a wide area) and two retail parks just off the roundabout further exacerbates the problem of already heavy traffic.
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I agree. The Kew roundabout has always been an absolute disaster. Too small for what it's meant to do, and impossible to improve as far as I can see (if you see what I mean).
The problem started with the Tesco - why was that agreed? More hidden forces, I'll be bound.
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A couple of weeks ago on market day I drove round Ormskirk's one way three times looking for a parking space and causing congestion. ;-)
Most of the large car parks, including Morrison's and the one behind Church Walks, are accessed from the one way system, aren't they?
Actually I go through there quite often and I don't find the traffic too bad (apart from the bottleneck at the church). There are much worse problems elsewhere I think.
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