| Topic: | Re; A response at last!!! | |
| Posted by: | Vanessa Smith | |
| Date/Time: | 16/07/13 19:28:00 |
Dear Ms Smith, I refer to your correspondence with Cllr Mayne on the above throughout June. I apologise for not writing sooner but I had observed some continued discussion between Cllr Mayne and yourself. I registered the matter with our Customer Services team in the interim and have now had opportunity to look into the matter formally. The mini-roundabout junction is currently being trialled to see if this junction layout would reduce congestion in the area as well as free up carriageway space for footway widening and wider cycle lanes. The traffic modelling indicates that it will, but as this is the first traffic signal removal in the Borough we wanted to run a trial before making the final decision. Because it is a trial we have made only temporary changes to the layout, such as blackening out of the lines rather than complete removal; minimising what would have to be un-done should the trial prove unsuccessful. If the trial is successful then substantial works will take place over the school summer holiday period to change the junction layout, including widening of the footway and resurfacing of the carriageway. We are monitoring the situation and have like you noticed that drivers are still trying to form two lanes on both Twickenham Road approaches. As with any change in road layout it takes a couple of weeks for drivers to get used to it, although in this case it would seem that drivers are determined to continue using the road as before, without paying attention to the road markings. To try and address this we have made the cycle lane markings solid and slightly thicker and added more cycle logos, since making these changes there has been a marginal improvement in lane discipline, but still not as much as we would have liked. We will continue to monitor the junction and see what more we can do in the short term to address this. Should the permanent scheme go ahead then the footway will be widened and the remaining carriageway width will make it clear that this is no longer to be used as two lanes. We will be formulating our conclusions on the success or otherwise of the trial during the middle part of July. I appreciate that as this initiative affects you there may be some frustration about its impact. Various adverse references have been made about engineering staff throughout correspondence. The email dated 3 June 2013 was brought to my attention by officers. During consultation and trials of this nature the engineers are often caught between support and opposition to such schemes. In trying to meet expectations they may not please all. Clearly at this time you are not happy with the scheme but I would kindly ask that your comments are made in a manner that officers feel they can engage comfortably with you. Please let me know if you have any further concern so I am able ensure they are addressed as part of the ongoing consultation. Regards Steve |