Since May 2023, access to the town centre has been limited to heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) servicing shops and businesses only to reduce the volume of heavy traffic passing through.
However, public consultation and analysis of traffic data carried out by Suffolk County Council has shown that the scheme is having a detrimental impact elsewhere due to a significant increase in HGV traffic in surrounding villages, including Debenham, Hoxne and Stradbroke.
While the restrictions had a level of support in Eye, it was not universal, with 39% of respondents saying it had been positive and 18% saying it had been negative. Others were unsure or didn’t provide a comment in the consultation.
Outside the restricted area the feedback was overwhelmingly negative, with 73% saying it had made the situation in their community worse. The main areas of concern raised were road safety, the impact on pedestrians and the narrowness of the alternative routes taken by the displaced HGVs.
The consultation also highlighted increased incidences of HGVs using the public walkway in other parishes, as well as references to pinch points where HGVs have found it difficult to pass each other.
Traffic surveys backed up the consultation findings, with 11 out of 15 surveyed areas showing an increase in HGV traffic. Some of the negatively impacted routes were elsewhere in Eye itself, outside the area of the restriction.
Due to the complexity of the issues and the statutory ETRO time constraints, there is no option to make changes to the current ETRO.
Therefore, the decision has been taken to lift the ETRO over the next few weeks and revert HGV routing in Eye to the previous restriction, which covers the north of the town only.
The county council will continue to work with Eye Town Council to look at other ways to address the issue of heavy traffic in the town.
Cllr Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Skills, Transport Strategy and Waste, said:
“Unfortunately, restricting HGV access in Eye has only moved the problem to other communities, which is not acceptable.
“I understand that this is an important and upsetting issue for many people in Eye, but solving this type of problem in a rural county with few good quality routes is far from easy. We will continue to look at ways to mitigate the heavy traffic in Eye, including engineering measures and potentially different types of traffic restrictions.
“However, an overwhelming number of people were opposed to this restriction, and it is only right that we take their views into account and bring the experiment to an end.”
