First Impressions
No. 02 - Part 01 - Coronation Road (leading to Station Road)
w/e 16 May 2010
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
The second route into town in this 'First Impressions' series
begins at the same place as the first but instead of following
the new link road, Millership Way, from the roundabout at the
end of the Awsworth Bypass, we take the exit to the diverted
Coronation Road which immediately leads up to the railway bridge
and then on to Station Road at the area known as Ilkeston Junction.
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It was hoped that Millership Way would take a lot of the traffic
off this road but although it has reduced the amount, a substantial
quantity still uses the original route. This is only to be expected
as most of the industrial and retail developments in the area
are at this end of Station Road. The bridge therefore is still
a bottleneck especially when large vehicles are crossing one
way or the other. Although we have not yet reached the River
Erewash, the natural boundary between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire,
the sign here indicates that the boundary between the counties
has been realigned to follow the railway line at this point.
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Vehicles and pedestrians are separated to cross the railway and
walkers must use the footbridge suspended at the side of the
road bridge. This also allows the foot traveller to see the rusty
panels on the road bridge and could raise concerns as to its
safety. Recently I have heard talk of possible weight restrictions
on the bridge and traffic calming measures on Station Road including
chicanes, parking restrictions and lay-bys plus a new mini-roundabout
but as the road is also a bus route, I'm not sure exactly what
the outcome will be. As we continue along Station Road in future
parts, the situation may become a little clearer.
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From the pedestrian bridge the view to the north shows the new
railway bridge on Millership Way and also overlooks the old Ilkeston
Junction Station site which is also the proposed site of the
new Ilkeston Station if it ever comes to fruition. Although all
the right noises are being made, it faces many of the same problems
encountered by the construction of Millership Way as the site
straddles the county boundary and there are four authorities
involved, Erewash and Broxtowe Borough Councils and Derbyshire
and Nottinghamshire County Councils. In addition there's the
financial consideration which is estimated to be in the region
of five or six million pounds and in the current economic climate
we shall just have to wait and see. We didn't have to wait very
long though for the graffiti artists to make their presence felt
on the new bridge.
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When I first started this series, I intended it to reflect what
the first impressions a visitor would acquire on entering the
town but since then it has become abundantly apparent that pedestrians
are likely to get a far different impression to those who arrive
by vehicles. Here for example walkers over the pedestrian bridge
are much more likely to see the scrap yard at the side of the
railway line than incomers by car and therfore are likely to
form a much different opinion.
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Leaving the footbridge to rejoin the road we will resume the
walk here in the next part and descend Coronation Road to join
Station Road at its junction with three more streets, namely
Wentworth, Digby and Station Street.
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