Island Roads has come under fire over its refusal of a one-way system for an Isle of Wight road, with a councillor saying it is another example of the provider ‘not giving a jot’ what residents think.
The highways service provider and Southern Water’s decision not to make Firestone Copse Road one-way is because such a policy speeds up traffic, with any incident resulting from a driver ignoring it being ‘considerably more severe’ than if the road remained 2-way, County Hall said this week.
Island Roads closed Firestone Copse Road in February to stop it being used as a rat run and diversion route while Elenors Grove was turned one-way for major Southern Water works.
Earlier this month, the roads were reopened both ways.
Alliance council leader Phil Jordan read out a response from transport committee chair Julie Jones-Evans to a question on a Firestone Copse Road one-way system from member of the public Mr L. Thomas at a full council meeting last week (16th March).
Mr Thomas’s submission said:
“Parish council minutes record that a one-way system for Firestone Copse Road was requested at a stakeholder meeting, but was refused by Island Roads on safety grounds.
“Will the chair of the economy, regeneration, transport and infrastructure committee committee, within seven days, commit to publish (redacted where necessary) the formal recorded assessment and decision record that underpinned that refusal, and the formal recorded assessment and decision record that underpinned the closure of Firestone Copse Road on February 10?”
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Cllr Jones-Evans’s response said:
“In respect of the assessment and decision record for the closure of Firestone Copse Road during the Elenors Grove Southern Water works, the record of decision for diversion routes is the agreed traffic management plan for the works.
“This is publicised on the street using diversion signage and was published in the residents’ letter set out on January 5 to all local residents and stakeholders.
“A traffic management plan does not require public consultation and agreement at a formal meeting. The decision by Southern Water and Island Roads not to make Firestone Copse Road one-way is because creating a one-way road will always increase vehicle speeds.
“And if a driver chooses to ignore the one-way designation, any resulting incident will be considerably more severe than if the road remained open to two-way traffic.”
Clare Mosdell, Havenstreet and Ashey Very Broad Church representative, said:
“As the ward councillor in that area, and I think Cllr (Ian) Dore will probably feel the same, we both think that’s an absolute load of BS.
“We weren’t asked for our opinion, the parish councillors weren’t.
“And even after we spoke to Island Roads and said this isn’t acceptable then it didn’t go anywhere. This is another example of Island Roads doing what they want and not giving a jot what ward councillors and local residents think.”
County Hall chair, Cllr Dore, said:
“As ward councillor, I would heartily agree with that – they didn’t discuss it with the wards.”
An Island Roads spokesperson said:
“The safety of highway users is always a primary consideration when reviewing road closure and diversion arrangements and this applies for both our own works and for the works of utility companies that are submitted to us for coordination and permitting purposes.
“Within a very restricted highway network, it is essential we take steps to manage situations that could endanger road users and that we act in a professional manner that is appropriate to the liabilities that may arise from poor decision making.
“We do not consider that decisions should be driven by local councillor demands without there being a clear process for accountability in the event of incident.
“Whilst we recognise that some decisions on traffic management can be inconvenient, we should never put safety at risk in favour of convenience.”
They said it will always take the views of residents and councillors into account when planning such requirements and added it was ‘unfortunate’ that the concerned councillors ‘did not come forward’ with their views until after the decisions had been committed and the road was closed.
A spokesperson for Southern Water said:
“We have successfully completed ahead of schedule a project that involved laying around 500m of new water main, along Elenors Grove. The road was reopened on 11th March.
“We have worked closely with Island Roads to minimise the impact, including planning the programme around peak holiday periods and major Island events, and installing additional signage to highlight that businesses remain open.
“These works are part of a wider £5 million investment to improve the resilience of the Isle of Wight’s water supply.
“We know traffic management is frustrating, and our teams are working to complete these essential upgrades as quickly and safely as possible.”
A couple of points showing the incompetence of the IW Council and Island Roads, (IR).
It was not “ ‘unfortunate’ that the concerned councillors ‘did not come forward’ with their views until after the decisions had been committed and the road was closed”, as the road closure was not shown on the published diversion routes as this was a decision they took AFTER the work started and people were quite rightly using a public road as – believe it or not – a road ! This meant IR unilaterally took the decision to close the road with no consultation to local councillors as they had failed to fully evaluate the likely consequences before printing their diversion routes, which laughably Cllr Jones is now calling a “traffic management plan”.
Secondly, why should IR consider the possible actions of an unlikely scenario of someone ignoring a one way system and having an accident as that would be their own stupid fault. So now the general public are inconvenienced as IR consider the action of a fool to be of more concern.
Surely the council have over all power to these wankers?
My Shih Tzu has more power than the Council
Lol
Our council needs to question SGN, who will be causing delays for the next fourteen months around Ryde. On top of the many months last year. Glaciers go faster.
I thought with all the climate b@llocks,
Gas was being phased out!, obviously NOT!!
“Island Roads” food for thought
It’s high time all Road Closure Orders were subject to advance advertising and a consultation and objections procedure. We should always be allowed to object to closures of King’s Highways and our objections should always be taken seriously. Councils and their contractors should always have to justify their reasoning to those who employ them ( their electors and all road users).
Cllr Jones-Evans needs to remember who is the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’, elected public servant and refrain from defending the indefensible.
Island Roads need to remember who pays their wages. Their cavalier attitude clearly requires a swift boot up the backside and a reminder that they are merely a contractor and not the Highways Authority.