AN “IN-DEPTH” investigation is to be carried out by Staffordshire County Council into traffic flow at Stone’s notorious ring road.
During the past 12 months motorists and pedestrians alike have hit out at traffic problems along Christchurch Way, which many said followed the installation of a traffic island at the junction with Lichfield Road.
Many have contacted the Newsletter to voice their concerns over the past year. And an online petition on the county council website, calling for a review of the current system, has attracted more than 160 signatures.
The county council has now vowed to monitor the road around the clock to gain an accurate picture of the volume and movements of cars along Christchurch Way.
Three weeks of traffic flow monitoring starts on April 30, with video camera surveillance at and around the junctions between May 2 and 8.
Last year the council attempted to tackle the traffic problems by moving a pedestrian crossing along Christchurch Way to make it easier for vehicles to leave the Morrison’s car park.
But the move sparked anger from some pedestrians and many have continued to use the old crossing point, putting their safety at risk.
A zebra crossing was also installed on Mill Street to help people walking between the supermarket and the town centre. And additional detector loops were installed along Mill Street to allow the new pedestrian crossing to control the flow of traffic along Christchurch Way when there is a queue of traffic leaving the store’s car park.
Councillor Philip Jones said: “The highways team has worked incredibly hard to find a solution to the congestion along Stone Bypass. The improvements they have already made have proved to be very successful and we have also worked with Morrison’s to find a way to tackle the issue.
“However, a recent technical fault with the traffic lights seems to have raised concerns again but I would like to reassure people that this was a temporary problem and to reiterate that the county council acted quickly and effectively to fix the problem.
“We will ensure that every possible step is taken to enable traffic to flow freely around Stone town centre. The team will be undertaking a further traffic survey of the bypass and the affected junctions later this month and into next month. This information will arm the team with the knowledge it needs to decide if there are any remaining issues and how best to solve them.”
