New Bridge Over the River Dee Needed

Artist's Impression of River Dee Bridge
Artist’s Impression of River Dee Bridge

The Chester Cycling Campaign believes that there is a strong case to be made for a new River Dee crossing for cyclists and pedestrians.  The bridge pictured was planned but never built by Cheshire County Council as part of the Connect2 project.  Maybe it is time to dust off these plans and to find the will and imagination to make such a bridge a reality this time…………..

The misery faced by motorists using the Post House roundabout recently is a sharp reminder of how our local roads are nearly filled to capacity at peak times.  Even minor roadworks or traffic light outages can lead to lengthy, stationary queues of traffic in some areas of Chester.  What will our roads be like after the two new proposed housing projects are built at Saighton Camp and Wrexham Road?  Many hundreds of new homes are due to be built, adding additional pressure on our already crowded roads.

Perhaps it is time for a major rethink regarding transport in the city.  A bold approach may be required if we are to avoid total gridlock.  How about getting the housing project developers to create a fund for a traffic-free pedestrian/cycling link across the River Dee between Huntingdon (just a little down the road from Saighton Camp) and the south end of the Meadows?

As Chester has fewer crossings of its river than other similar cities, this bridge would be a very useful traffic-free link for journeys to the Wrexham Road Business Park or into the City Centre.  Workers at the Business Park, pupils at the King’s School, students attending the former West Cheshire College site when it becomes part of the university, and Sainsbury’s shoppers would be able to reach their destination using a safe and direct route, on foot or by cycle.  The benefits in terms of improved health, fitness, reduced congestion, quicker journey times, and reduced transport costs would be experienced not only by residents of the new housing developments but also by all those already living in the south and east of the city.

It simply isn’t good enough for developers to build hundreds of houses without being required to take steps to mitigate the impact on local roads.  Experience in other cities in the UK and on the continent have shown that where bold steps have been taken to provide high quality cycle and pedestrian routes, people change their chosen modes of transport accordingly.  What have we got to lose, apart from hundreds of cars from rush hour traffic?

13 Comments

  1. How can we make this happen??

    I see there were some plans 12 years ago. No idea what happened to them.

  2. Add in the dukes drive and we have purpose built route to both eccleston and the post house hotel roundabout are, with a link from the dukes drive onto the Buisness park , and possibly a link through the new homes on Wrexham rd to Lache lane Green lane areas.

  3. With Covid19 situation, all cities need to rethink ways of commuting. Idea for bridge is great example and should be brought cor discussion again. It would make so much easier pedestrian/cycling access to town and much quicker commute to business park. How can this idea be brought to Huntington/Chester council?

    • I would support this idea and would be very happy to get involved in lobbying. I spoke to Chris Matheson last week and he seemed very supportive. Please advise if there is any way I can help out

    • Brilliant idea! Providing a much needed pedestrian link from Huntington/Boughton to Queens Park/Handbridge.
      Why would anyone block it?!

  4. What a brilliant idea. A similar one in preparation for the millennium was blocked by the so-called friends of the Meadows.

  5. I would LOVE this and have hoped for many years that it would happen! Fingers crossed

  6. Absolutely couldn’t agree more. Please can this be revisited given the £4.2m that doesn’t seem to have spent on infrastructure by CEG. As a cyclist and walker this would be a fantastic opportunity to get more people out of their cars and exercising too. Someone suggested a Nippon clip-on under the A55 to me as a low cost alternative.

  7. A roadbridge from saltney ferry to Sealand road, which incorporates cycle and pedestrian lane might be a good idea

  8. PS a bridge of course goes two ways – the communities over in Queen’s Park/handbridge/lache/Westminster park would also be able to bypass the city centre on their car free way to sainsburys/waitrose/the canal network and the black/scarlet/brown cycleways. Win-win.

  9. as a resident of saighton camp & dog walking user of the meadows and beyond, I would strongly welcome a bridge connecting meadows to the “other side” of the city. There is a large population base in Boughton/Huntington/Vicars Cross/Saighton Camp with very little open space and even less river access. A simple bridge would let us get to the green open spaces that are a gateway to walks/cycle rides/employment areas/riverfronts we can currently see but not access. Maybe support from the above areas community councils would be forthcoming? Each have newsletters also. A crowd funding scheme may also be a way forward…?

  10. This bridge would be a fantastic addition to the cycle facilities in Chester.

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