April 2018
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News
SGC considers “mitigation measures” to fix Aztec West traffic woes created by its own £4.2m scheme
S
outh Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has revealed that it is considering a range of “mitigation measures” to address the widely held view that a recent £4.2m scheme of “improvements” on the southbound A38 near Aztec West has worsened peak time traffic congestion for the majority of road users in the area. The latest development came just days after one local councillor said he had raised the issue with West of England metro mayor Tim Bowles and asked him to speak to members of SGC’s Cabinet. Pressure is also being applied to Highways England (HE), which has responsibility for the roundabout at the neighbouring M5 J16 roundabout, asking it to liaise with SGC over the lack of synchronisation between traffic signals there and at the Aztec West Roundabout. In a letter sent by Bradley Stoke Town Council to HE, mayor Andy Ward referred to “an issue with the sequencing which causes congestion when traffic leaving the Motorway attempts to integrate with the Aztec West roundabout approach road network”. He went on to write: “The traffic in the local area has worsened significantly since the
recent improvements were made. Our residents are understandably frustrated having endured many years of roadworks in and around the town only to find that once completed the promised improvements have not materialised and in fact the opposite is the case and congestion has significantly worsened.” Speaking at a BSTC meeting on 14th March, Cllr Brian Hopkinson reported that SGC is “considering taking over responsibility for the M5 Junction 16 traffic lights from Highways England,” although it was noted that there were financial issues which would need to be addressed before this could be done. Earlier, a meeting of the local SGC Community Engagement Forum on 22nd February had been told that: “Several mitigation measures outside the scope of the road scheme which was substantially completed
Clean
More traffic signals being installed – Highways England warns of overnight slip road closures A new set of traffic signals is currently being installed by Highways England on the southbound entry slip road of the M5 at J16. The new toucan crossing is intended to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists traversing the western side of the J16 roundabout. Work on the scheme began in mid-March and is due to be completed by 23rd May. Highways England says it plans to carry out the work at night, Monday to Friday, between the hours of 8pm and 6am. A Highways England spokesperson said: “The majority of the works will be carried out under lane closures on the southbound entry slip road and on the A38 roundabout. However, we will require some overnight full road closures of the M5 southbound entry slip at J16; closure dates will be displayed on site via black on yellow signing. During these closures, a fully signed diversion route will be in place.”
in October 2017 have been identified to assist in alleviating the current issues.” These are listed in the minutes as: 1. Do nothing, beyond continuing to lobby HE for improvement to M5 J16 2. Make lane 1 (nearside) from between the Aztec West Roundabout and the M5 J16 southbound on-slip lane ‘left only’ 3. Create four lanes on the A38 northbound approach to M5 J16, designated: (1) M5 southbound; (2) A38 northbound; (3 & 4): M5 northbound
4. Implement a Traffic Regulation Order to prohibit the left-turning manoeuvre from the Bradley Stoke Way lane out of the business park onto the A38 northbound 5. Experimental temporary signalisation of the first internal roundabout within the business park between 3pm and 7pm The positive and negative attributes of each option are detailed in the forum minutes (available via the magazine links page on the BSJ website: http://bit.ly/bsj-mag-links).
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