A local councillor claimed people have started leaving the area because of it.
It’s midday in Boothstown and the roads are already busy. There’s rarely a moment without cars whizzing past on Leigh Road through the Salford village.
In the mornings, locals say the neighbourhood turns into a ‘car park’ as congestion backs up from drivers trying to get to the M60 or East Lancs.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited Boothstown last year and heard from people living there about ‘standstill traffic all the time.’
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But 12 months later, many in the community say the problem has only gotten worse – and they feel those with power to make a difference aren’t listening to their concerns.
Nick Mason lives in Boothstown and is happy to stop for a chat about the traffic, as many others are.
“The infrastructure around here just can’t support the number of cars going through,” he said.
The 48-year-old counts himself lucky – he can work from home most of the time.
But around two days a week he commutes to Blackburn and has to wade through congestion.
“Boothstown is a rat run to get to the motorway. You can’t even set off early to beat the traffic.
“The roads can’t take it, I feel like we just can’t get out at times. Leigh Road in the mornings is a car park.
“It’s been like this for ages, nothing has changed and we do feel ignored, it’s ruining everyone’s quality of life. It can’t carry on like this forever, it’s already unbearable.”
The transport problems in Boothstown have become so bad that a local councillor claimed people have started leaving the area because of it.
Bob Clarke is a Conservative councillor for Boothstown and Ellenbrook, and recently became leader of the opposition at Salford council.
“The problem we have is people are moving out of Boothstown and Ellenbrook now because they can’t get to work,” he said in an interview with the LDRS earlier in July.
“Most of these people are high earners who are leaving. People are fed up with it, they just can’t get out [when the traffic is bad].”
Spending time speaking to people in the village confirmed what Coun Clarke said – many people are fed up with congestion and fear Boothstown can’t cope anymore.
Areas around the village have been earmarked for new housing, with Peel planning to build hundreds of homes on a patch of land next to RHS Garden Bridgewater.
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There are also around 1,000 new homes planned at Mosley Common in Wigan, which is based just to the west of Boothstown.
In Salford and Greater Manchester, demand for new housing is strong, with a need to build more to try and tackle the housing and homelessness crisis.
Some local people in Boothstown were worried about adding more people and cars to the existing traffic concerns.
Dave Fraser is the owner of SV Kitchens and lives in Boothstown.
He said: “The roads in Boothstown are a nightmare. In the mornings it’s just standstill. They need to stop building new houses for a start, because it’s not just the roads affected we have flooding problems too, and the more trees we lose the worse it’s going to get.
“A lot of people in the bigger houses are looking at selling up and going to areas where they don’t have to wait in so much traffic.”
Norma Smith, 78, added: “The roads here are absolutely horrendous. In the morning it backs up all the way with traffic.
“Nothing is being done about it, it’s getting worse and they are still trying to build more homes. We aren’t being listened to at all by the council.”
Salford council is aware of the issues but said it needs to find ways to manage the population and economic boom the city is experiencing.
Coun Mike McCusker is the council’s lead member for planning, transport and sustainable development.
He said: “A lack of housing stock means we need more homes for our residents as we continue our plans to regenerate and revitalise areas across Salford. This includes the infrastructure needed to create thriving, well-connected communities with green spaces and improved transport links.
“The council’s approach to new homes proposed in this area has included these aspects in plans such as Places for Everyone. This will ensure that proposals are fully considered, including assessment through independent examination.
“Working with Greater Manchester and government, we have already seen investment in the delivery of the Bee Network to support people with options to leave cars at home, traffic free walking and cycling routes as well as low cost bus fares and additional bus capacity on services such as the V1.
“The V1 is also part of a pilot with services running 24hrs to help people who need to travel for shift work or in the night time economy.
“We will continue to work to review the impact of individual development sites through the planning process and with partners to look at infrastructure improvements, while also creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive city for our residents.”