Motorists travelling through The Bay will face significant disruption from next week as Lake Hill and the top part of The Broadway will become one-way for a whole month.
Utility works in the area mean that vehicles will be able to travel up The Broadway and down Lake Hill (towards Shanklin), but won’t be able to travel in the opposite direction. Instead, motorists will be diverted via The Fairway and Perowne Way.
It’s said that the one-way restriction will come into force first thing on Monday morning (7th March) and will continue until at least Friday 8th April. The restriction is required for safety during utility works by WightFibre.
The roadworks will add time to journeys in the area, especially for those accessing Perowne Way from Brading and having to go against the flow of traffic.
A spokesperson for Island Roads has said:
“As a utility company, WightFibre has a legal right to undertake such infrastructure work. Island Roads’ role is to work with them to reduce the impact on road users. To that end, we have asked WightFibre to undertake the work outside of the main tourism season when roads are quieter.
“We will also monitor the effects of the traffic restrictions and take any appropriate action to ensure traffic flows are as smooth as possible. In addition, we will encourage WightFibre to complete the scheme as soon as possible in which case the restriction can be lifted ahead of the advertised dates”.
How is a private utility company allowed to severely restrict access to The Bay Medical Practice from patients travelling from the Lake direction, which is on a main bus route.
No mention is made about public access to NHS services, which are not seasonal, and, after the last two years, are certainly considerably more important than another prolonged period of WightFibre’s laughable utility works.
If any proper consideration had been given to residents and patients this work should be restricted to, at least, outside of surgery hours whatever the cost to WightFibre.
Not only that but emergency vehicle access both in and through Sandown will be severely impacted by the disruption and inevitable traffic chaos which could (will?) lead to lives being lost.
How is that “safety”?
WightFibre strikes again! Other utility companies would only be allowed to close the road / disrupt traffic for emergency work! Money talks, I suppose..
Absolutely unbelievable that this can be allowed. Although there would be delays surely traffic light control to maintain alternate single line traffic would be much better. What happens when the first large vehicle travels the diversion route – chaos. Wightfibre’s reputation has been severely damaged by these ongoing works and not a consideration for motorists and public transport.
Exactly – traffic light controlled single alternate working limited to the shortest possible section is the only solution that complies with the council’s legal obligation to minimise disruption and their moral obligation to Sandown’s residents and businesses.
I really cannot understand just how Wightfibre have been permitted to cause such disruption to Island roads (and footways). They have caused repeated problems whilst ‘working’ simultaneously in multiple areas!
They take far longer to do works than advertised and leave a state of devastation behind them.
It might help if there was a concerted effort by them to actually have larger numbers of workers actually doing any work rather than the occasional two or three ‘workmen’ brewing cuppas and standing around using their mobiles!
Will this disruption by Wight fibre ever end. It goes on and on. IF it does ever end, it could well be obsolete.
Perowne way will be a hazzard especially at school times dont wight fibre realise there few more coaches arond march and april then late january and early feb
… muppets
just look who they employ, I have mates that work for them who’ve never been involved in road works, a joke of a company
The council has a legal obligation to ensure that disruption is minimised – they have not done this.
They allowed the total closure of sandown high street for six (now extended to at least eight) weeks to go unchallenged despite it causing major disruption to businesses, emergency service access and public transport.
Now it seems Sandown is to be allowed to be effectively cut off from the Shanklin direction and the impact on public transport and emergency services will be even worse with the lake hill works yet still no sign of any credible challenge by the council.
Years of huge inconvenience and damage to our roads and footpaths. I certainly would never use them.
This will lead to gridlock – how will emergency vehicles get through?
And how will the narrow residential Perowne way cope with heavy traffic?
Surely properly tuned traffic lights are a better solution and all that is really necessary.
Perowne way is going to go into meltdown, The school run, coaches, double decker buses, trucks and lorry’s.
( Plus all the elderly drivers that live down there ). Wight fibre + island roads = chaos.
I think it would be faster to just have traffic lights than to go the route around.
And once again wight fibre strike !!!!
What about large lorries, buses , emergency vehicles ????
And then Perowne way will be jammed up to the point of no return!!!!
And what about the effect on the residents????
The school etc…..
Extra traffic for a month plus !!!
Good one (not)…..
This stinking joke of a company causing chaos yet again, they have ruined the pavement on our road and we know of no one who wants to be connected to their “wonderful” service, when they first started one of their scroats told me they would install their cable to a box actually on my house wall and i had no choice so i told him that as their workmen left i would take a set of bolt croppers to the cable and a sledgehammer to their box and oddly enough they never came back.
I have heard several stories of Wightfibre intimidating homeowners that they have a right to put cables on their land etc. Even saying if they plant anything over them that Wightfibre can dig it all up if necessary. Don’t be bullied by them, know your rights!
The traffic lights at the morton end of perowne way only allow 5 cars through at any given rotation of the lights so best bring a packed lunch whilst waiting to move
I’ve had enough now, think the majority of the island have had enough!! There’s nothing but traffic delays everywhere at the moment, I know this one’s a utility, but I’ve been watching the island roads guys on Coppins Bridge most of those bar a few like resting against their shoves or looking complex at each other. Pull your fingers out.
Let’s hope that they leave the normal Island pot holes we couldn’t do without them.
Wow so many people moaning, I’m loving my 500MB fibre from them fantastic service, no crappy call centres in India, same day fixes for any issues.
Many companies and house holds will benefit from this 1GB island wide service. That’s 100 times better than other Internet services
Just suck it up and get on with life for gods sake
That is the point, we all want to do just that and ‘get on with our lives’.
WighrFibre, by contrast, seem determined to continue to make our lives as difficult as they can.
The reputation that their roadworks have created is now so synonymous with disruption and bad workmanship that, as has been pointed out, a lot of people will have nothing to do with them.
It is past time for WightFibre to ‘suck it up’ and let the rest of us ‘get on with our lives’!
You do however sound like a company employee trying, vainly, to blow WightFibres trumpet.
As we live in Brownlow road I agree with the comments suggesting traffic lights, the added time and distance getting home from Shanklin will be a nightmare, we also have a regular transport ambulance pick up in our road this will also be badly affected.
This is extra to the issues trying to get to the Bay surgery