A concerned councillor has paid £1,000 to explore fixing traffic lights at a notorious junction where drivers get ‘stuck in the middle of the road’.
Cllr Alan Amos has used money from his councillor’s fund to pay for a traffic study, exploring whether a filter light can be introduced to the traffic lights at the junction of Malvern Road and Bransford Road in St John’s in Worcester.
He hopes that such a feature would mean traffic could turn right into Sainsbury’s from Malvern Road with far less hassle, making the junction ‘simpler and safer’.
The Bedwardine county councillor for Reform UK said, by working closely with Worcestershire County Council, he had ensured the phasing of the lights had improved.
He says the improved phasing means drivers turning right into Sainsbury’s have more time on green to make the manoeuvre. But he is still not satisfied and is now determined to improve the situation.
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“What is needed is a green filter light at the lights to ease flow from Malvern Road into Sainsbury’s,” he said.
Cllr Amos, also a city councillor for Lower Wick and Pitmaston, said drivers turning right into Sainsbury’s from the box are forced to use a narrow window of time to ‘dart across’ before meeting traffic coming from St John’s (which has priority once the lights go green).
His concern is that this has resulted in a series of ‘close shaves’ and ‘near misses’, and this concern adds to the stress of residents doing their shopping.
He said: “Cars get stuck waiting to turn right because, before they are able to do so, the lights have changed and we have oncoming traffic so they’re stuck in the middle. Lorries coming from Bransford Road also can’t get around because the junction is blocked by cars turning into Sainsbury’s. Dozens of people have now raised this with me. It’s a big issue. The sheer volume of traffic is the problem. When Sainsbury’s was built, they did not accurately assess the traffic flow.”
Cllr Amos recently secured five kerb bollards at the same junction in St John’s to stop people parking on the pavement to protect pedestrians, including children from nearby Our Lady of Peace Primary School.