Transport in Ipswich

[6] Route number 66 is a partially guided busway, operated by First Eastern Counties, serves Martlesham Heath and Kesgrave from the town and the railway station.

[7] Ipswich is a small town which is well suited to cycling and the council has been investing significant sums of money in recent years to improve the facilities.

[citation needed] There is cycle storage available at all stations and there can be carried on all trains but space is sometimes limited (see Rail section below for details).

Grange Farm in Kesgrave in the outskirts of Ipswich is built round a network spine of cycle and footpaths.

The requirement to produce a Definitive Map dates back to 1983 as outlined the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 however they note that no timescale was set down for when work should start or be completed; a first draft of which took 25 years in this case.

At certain times these can be fully used, there are particular overcrowding problems on the East Suffolk Line in good weather where cyclists are often refused access on safety grounds.

The fastest service into London Liverpool Street currently has a journey time of one hour and 10 minutes.

[11] By the Middle Ages wool was being exported from Ipswich by ship and by the 13th century there was a thriving shipbuilding industry.

[12] The first known map of the town is dated 1539 which was created when Henry VIII feared invasion from France and Spain.

[13] John Speed then published an atlas in 1611, 'The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine', which included a map of Ipswich[14] and John Ogilby's 1675 'Britannia' Atlas map[15] showed a three routes from Ipswich:- The Highways Act 1555 (and subsequent Highways Act 1562) placed responsibility of road maintenance on the local parishes.

[citation needed] A daily coaching service to London operated at this time, but was expensive at 3d per mile according to Daniel Defoe and the journey took 10 hours in 1762.

[17] A map from 1766 shows the predecessor of the A12 road passing through Rumford (Romford), Burntwood (Brentwood), Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Woodbridge, Beckles and finally to Great Yarmouth.

[23] The first abortive proposals to make the River Orwell navigable as far as Stowmarket were raised in 1719 but were dropped after objections from the Ipswich Corporation.

The Public Health Act 1875 required towns to have pavements and street lighting (and also effective sewerage systems).

[32] After two changes of ownership and ambitious development of both steamer and on-land leisure facilities offering attractions and services at Walton-on-the-Naze, Felixstowe, Southwold and Great Yarmouth the company was wound up in 1905.

[34] Ipswich Airport opened in 1930 and offered regular flights to Clacton, Southend and Jersey and later to the Netherlands and Manchester.

[35] In 1962 the government appointed consultants to consider the feasibility of expanding Ipswich, Peterborough and Worcester to meet the growing demand from housing from London and Birmingham.

[39] Construction of Civic Drive (an urban dual-carriageway), Franciscan Way and associated roundabouts started in 1963 and the new roads opened in 1966.

[42] In 1984 the East Suffolk Line was reduced to single-track in places making it impossible to run an hourly service from Ipswich in the direction of Lowestoft.

Plans were greatly scaled back after major road protests at Newbury bypass and Twyford Down and other locations.

[44] Ipswich Airport was de-licensed in 1996[45] and the area was re-developed into the residential district of Ravenswood with the front of the Grade 2 listed control building, designed by Heining and Chitty in 1938, integrated into new scheme.

[46] Crown Street car park with 1000 bays was closed in November 2009 due to long standing structural problems with the concrete after a routine inspection.

[49] The focus of the works is the development of sustainable travel links in and connecting to the town centre, which will have been outfitted with Urban Traffic Management and Control equipment.

[50] Eight routes have been selected to be the focus of the development as Suffolk County Council: The borough council also plans to expand both bus stations to facilitate the creation of new bus routes linking the town centre with housing developments towards the outskirts of town.

The development of the bus services will tie in with the County Council's creation of travel plans for businesses and schools based in Ipswich.

[citation needed] The proposal was raised again in October 2014 by the MP Ben Gummer, with support from the County Council, the NewAnglia Local Enterprise Partnership, the university and the port authority.

[51] A footnote at the end of the Local Development Framework states that only one of the Northern Bypass and Wet Dock Crossing may need to be built.

However, due to lack of Highway Agency support as well as active opposition from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and others, Ipswich Borough Council is not proposing the link road at this time.