A local councillor has raised concerns about the continuing, controversial roadworks to turn St Mary’s Roundabout into a junction, as a one-way system is put back in place for up to 11 weeks.
A similar scheme was put in place for a time last year with Forest Road being made one-way with diversions through Newport and Carisbrooke. Residents of Hunnyhill and Camp Hill reported problems of traffic avoiding signed diversions and using private, unadopted roads to cut past roadworks.
In Hunnyhill, motorists have continued to try and find a way through since the one-way system was installed yesterday morning (Monday) — something Cllr Andrew Garratt, ward representative for the Isle of Wight Council, had hoped would not be repeated. He said:
“Part of the problem is down to the signage that was put at the top of Hunnyhill last time and I am hoping Island Roads will have learnt it needs to be very clear in redirecting traffic, which won’t be able to go westbound.”
However, one resident has already reported seeing 6 cars try to cut through Worsley Road and had to turn around, as it is a dead-end, one backing into a fence.
Cllr Garratt said:
“I suspect this is because some drivers are not seeing the diversion sign ahead of the closure to send them down Hunnyhill and are, instead, heading down Whitesmith Road.”
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Last year, Cllr Garratt and residents campaigned for more signage and are now doing so again to avoid these situations — but he said:
“I had a little bit of trouble trying persuading them that some extra signage could do a good job here.”
He warned the extra traffic could be a hazard as young children liked playing in the street. Other issues raised include traffic diverting through the unadopted, private roads of Camp Hill.
Cllr Garratt adds:
“Given it is a quiet area, and you do get a lot of traffic diverting through there as we saw last autumn, I am hoping people will be sensible, as most did, taking it slowly through there. But it is difficult for the residents to have this extra traffic in their quiet roads.”
As lockdown restrictions are lifted in the next couple of weeks, Peter Hayward, IW Council project manager of the St Mary’s roundabout scheme, said they were preparing for a slight increase in traffic as they try to avoid problems but people using the diversion or looking for a cut-through that doesn’t exist ‘shouldn’t be an issue’. He said:
“We cannot block [the roads] off. It doesn’t work like that.
“We have said the only way we can manage [the traffic] is to put the one-way system on a little bit earlier. The only issue is the one-way system may be on for a couple of weeks more than we wanted it too but that is necessary to stop the queues coming back on the roundabout.”
The 11 week one-way system will initially be eastbound until late August.
Explaining the situation, Mr Hayward said ideally Southern Water would have finished their work 2 weeks ago but due to the current pandemic, manufacturers of a part needed by the water company have not been able to create the piece and until then Island Roads could not continue their work.
Mr Hayward said:
“The part will allow them to tap into the pipes and bypass the water without cutting the water off. We haven’t been able to progress because there is still an open hole where the connection needs to be made — we cannot resurface it.
“It was always planned to put the one way on now but we were going to start our works immediately instead of putting it on now and letting Southern Water finish.”
Mr Hayward also said the ultimate completion date for the scheme, mid-December, has not been affected as different parts of the scheme are just being completed in a different order.
However, Cllr Garratt hopes Island Roads will be pro-active in monitoring the situation if adjustments are needed and that the 11 weeks could be a worst-case scenario.
“If there is any way where it emerges we could return to a two-way traffic light situation, allowing the flow in both directions, that would be great although I understand it may not be physically possible along with the traffic management and we just have to hope people can negotiate there way around Newport without becoming too frustrated.”
The St Mary’s scheme is coming into the final 6 months of construction after it was started at the end of September 2019 as a way of reducing congestion and ‘future-proofing’ the junction for the Island.
“The St Mary’s scheme is a way of reducing congestion”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…… how funny! 😀
Maybe there should be bets on! Even a blind chimp could see that it will never reduce traffic……. unless the idea is block it all up at St Marys so that there is less traffic in the town.
IF it works it will just mean we will arrive at the Coppins Bridge queue that much quicker – about 10 seconds – Wow!
Also would it be possible that when we drive through said roadworks that we actually see somebody working – it makes the whole experience that much less stressful if we can see a reason for the hold ups!
I think that it is an intelligence test – and I’ve failed!
All around UK they are replacing traffic lights with Round abouts, stats and evidence show they are 20-25% better for traffic flow.But then we always go backward on iow Think of cost, huge environmental impact in the production of hundreds tons of of all that concrete and tarmac and all the lorries, rollers ,workman then to replace it with traffic lights using steel plastic electricity maintenance. Reduce vehicles and support public transport etc.
Seems all they needed to do was to enlarge the existing one to take Hunny hill into the roundabout, rather than have it coming into the road as it did. That way traffic could keep flowing and the larger the roundabout the less risk to users. Too late now ruined
Should have left it as a roundabout. It needed extending so that Hunnyhill came out onto it ratherthan fForest Road as it does now. There was plenty of land to do it and it would have been a lot cheaper.
The council need to send traffic wardens up carisbrooke and ticket those builders vans sat on double yellows all day opposite carisbrooke garage on the main road they are a nightmare and causing traffic to back up. the council have put double yellow lines down between the vets and Wellington road to keep the road clear but yet these vans sit there all day nothing been loaded or unloaded just sat there for convenience I can understand if there was a delivery but if they are not using them park around the corner on Wellington road a few yards away and keep the road clear