A Burton coffee shop is launching a new Beat the Bridge initiative to ease pain for motorists during the town's latest roadworks headaches - by offering a refuge from traffic congestion.
Lowercase coffee shop, based at The Alphabet Gift Shop, in Union Street, Burton, has installed a new television and extended its opening hours to give drivers the opportunity to sit out the congestion.
Traffic hold-ups during the evening rush-hour have worsened following the recent partial closure of the Burton Bridge, across the River Trent.
The bridge works have forced motorists to seek alternative exits out of Burton and, as a result, clog up town centre roads.
The 10-week partial closure is to enable strengthening work to be carried out on the historic bridge and without this essential work taking place, the bridge may have to close to traffic for good, Staffordshire County Council has warned.
Sue Dorling, The Alphabet Gift Shop owner, said: “We were hoping that this time around the roadworks would have less of an impact on business in the town but five days in and we are definitely feeling it.
"The evening rush hour brings very slow moving traffic in Union Street all the way up to St Peter's Bridge for two or three hours – it’s a different pain from the last bridge closure but painful nonetheless."
During the St Peter's Bridge closure the coffee shop opened earlier - now the Lowercase Coffee Bar team is focusing efforts on offering a refuge during the evening rush hour.
The team has installed a new television and extended opening hours to give drivers the opportunity to sit out the congestion, catch up on football and tennis highlights, enjoy the evening sunshine with a drink on the terrace and wait until the traffic queues have gone down.
Meanwhile, free parking in Coopers Square shopping centre after 3pm provides an added bonus for drivers wishing to take advantage of the opportunity to wait until the worst of the traffic has gone.
Internet-savvy customers can also use the coffee shop’s free wifi and charging cables.
Mrs Dorling said: “We carried out a little survey on Facebook to ask if evening opening would be of use to our customers and received an overwhelming ‘YES’.
"If anyone has other suggestions about how we can ease the pain then please get in touch via our Facebook page at www.facebook.com or visit the website at www.thealphabetgiftshop.co.uk"
