Roundabout slip-road is open again

1:00pm Thursday 4th October 2012 in News

NEW LOOK: Drivers at Whittington roundabout yesterday afternoon after the alterations were made. Picture by Nick Toogood. 40144611 NEW LOOK: Drivers at Whittington roundabout yesterday afternoon after the alterations were made. Picture by Nick Toogood. 40144611

A CONTROVERSIAL traffic island has been re-opened after a public outcry over a new road layout which cost the taxpayer £1.3 million prompted a rethink.

Worcestershire County Council engineers last week started alterations to the troublesome left-hand ‘slip-road’ – which is in fact a road junction – taking traffic from the M5 roundabout, heading towards the A4440 to-wards Malvern.

Your Worcester News fielded dozens of complaints from drivers saying the left-hand turn lane was a safety hazard, allowing little visiblity, leaving little time for drivers to safely pull out, while one motorist alleged it had caused a road crash.

City councillor Paul Denham also branded the roundabout “chaotic and potentially dangerous”, before the recent tweaks.

Following that criticism and its own “on-site monitoring”, the county council decided to make some alterations to the lane. These works have included moving the junction back towards the M5 roundabout by about 30 yards, so it now lines up with the junction with the roundabout, and new repeater signs warning drivers when they need to ‘give way’.

Engineers suspended the last part of the works over the weekend, allowing for traffic heading towards the Malvern Autumn Show, but had completed the alterations by Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning.

Following a site inspection yesterday, the ‘slip-road’ was reopened at lunchtime.

Jon Fraser, Worcestershire County Council customer and community manager, said: “The alterations to the left-turn slip road at the new Whittington roundabout, which required a short-term lane closure on the A4440 Crookbarrow Way, were completed over-night on Monday and Tues-day to keep any disruption to a minimum.

“The changes, put in place following feedback from motorists and on-site monitoring, include the moving back of the ‘give way’ markings, a change in the angle of the junction to aid driver visibility and the installation of additional signage to reinforce the message that it’s necessary to give way to traffic when exiting the slip-road. He said since the original alterations were carried out to all four approaches on the roundabout, earlier this year, traffic congestion had “eased”.

Comments(3)

mayall8808 says...
3:14pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Jon Fraser, Worcestershire County Council customer and community manager, said:
“The changes, put in place following feedback from motorists and on-site monitoring, include the moving back of the ‘give way’ markings, a change in the angle of the junction to aid driver visibility and the installation of additional signage to reinforce the message that it’s necessary to give way to traffic when exiting the slip-road. He said since the original alterations were carried out to all four approaches on the roundabout, earlier this year, traffic congestion had “eased”.
WHAT a load of twaddle, its more dangerous to use now than before.

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green49 says...
10:00am Mon 8 Oct 12

I drove back from Pershore the other day and was going straight to the city and the two lanes going to the city i had one berk overtaking as the lanes went from two to three as the slip lane from the left st peters end joined up, then you have a crossing and then a bus stop all in a very short space, an accident waitng to happen, When has it been legal to overtake on an island?? its just pure maddness.

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AndyOfWorcester says...
9:01am Mon 15 Oct 12

The changes appear to be an improvement for the majority of users, but it still looks like an accident black spot in the making. The solitary Give Way sign that stood beyond any crash scene has been resited, and others added on the approach to the junction. The angle of the junction helps drivers with what to expect, but it is still dangerous for Left Hand Drive vehicles with traffic approacing in the blind spot. Still, by moving the join to nearer to the roundabout, it should reduce the impact speeds of accidents, and gives a bit more space when drivers swerve out into the opposing traffic flow. Meanwhile, I notice that the chevrons with a solid white line bounding them effectively prohibit using that lane being used like a slip road, but that hasn't stopped some people using it that way. As for people racing up to the roundabout from the motorway and turning left, to beat the traffic queing the slip lane, that just indicates that the junction doesn't solve the traffic problem at the bussiest times. Meanwhile, I recommend that road users without armour and air bags consider how they handle that junction, because they continue to be the most vulnerable to the consequences of this problematic junction.

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