YOUR SAY: The problems with traffic in Buxton

Yuri Getcheffsky, 53, lives in New Mills but commutes to Buxton every day.

He said: “Any kind of problem and the traffic on Fairfield Road is backed up for ages - it’s a nightmare.

“It was so bad once that I had to abandon my car in Fairfield and walk back up at the end of the day because I was going to be late for work otherwise.

“If something breaks down or a taxi stops to let someone out everything falls apart.

“A bypass would be brilliant because the traffic is horrendous, not to mention dangerous.”

Resident Elizabeth Thompson, who created the petition, said Fairfield Road was not suitable for the volume of traffic it serves.

Lisa Webber, 37, from Harpur Hill, agrees.

She said: “There are times when I have been trying to get up there and I have queued past the Common for ages because nothing is moving.

“The traffic in and out of Buxton is a problem, but I think with more cars on the road there isn’t going to be a quick and easy solution.”

For Imogen Howsen, 19, of Buxton, she thinks school traffic makes it worse for drivers.

She said: “When my boyfriend is picking up his little brother the traffic can really back up and it is difficult to turn up there.”

Roger Beverley, 68, from Buxton, said the idea of a bypass had been talked about for years. He said: “Nothing is going to happen now, and nothing will ever happen.

“The way to stop the traffic problems is to make it a no right turn on to Lightwood Road from Fairfield Road. That way the traffic won’t get blocked up and people can keep moving.

“Go down to the roundabout and turn onto Lightwood Road, that would make more sense, but the people who live down there will start moaning. And simple things like an earlier bin collection would help massively so people aren’t stuck behind the lorry for ages, but then people will moan that it is too noisy too early.

“There is never going to be a situation which pleases everyone and I think we need to accept that and look at practical solutions which can make a big impact on everyone, like the no right turn idea.”

Councillor Tony Kemp, who represents Buxton on both High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, explained that such a project as a bypass would be “well beyond” the scope of one authority acting solely on its own.

The road and the traffic is especially daunting for learner driver Alistair Brown, 26 from Buxton.

He said: “It’s horrible, especially when I have lessons at rush hour. I have friends who live up there and they are always saying it is a nightmare.”

Daniel Taylor, 24, from Buxton, added: “I have a lot of family in Manchester and know how horrible the roads can be. A bypass would be a brilliant idea, but where would it go? Would it not just be moving the problem to another area of town? I think the council has bigger issues to sort out, such as parking and the lack of public toilets, before they start thinking about a bypass.”