COUNCILLORS are on a collision course after disagreeing over proposals to alter the so-called ‘dangerous’ mini-islands in Wall Heath High Street.

Tories Natalie Neale and Nicola Richards have started a petition to find out if residents want the road layout at the junctions of Enville Road and Dudley Road changed.

Cllr Neale said she is “just waiting for a major accident” to occur under the current traffic management system.

However, fellow Wall Heath councillor, Labour’s Dave Tyler, said he cannot support the petition as he feels changing the system could “jeopardise people’s lives”.

The Conservative councillors are urging the Wall Heath public to have their say on whether the islands should be changed, with Cllr Neale saying her preferred options would be to have either one large island or a four way traffic light system.

She said: “The islands are so dangerous. Nobody knows how to navigate them properly, especially people who don’t live in the area and are just passing through on the A449.

“There have been a number of minor incidents and near misses, but I think we are all just waiting for a major accident.

“I understand the islands were set up in the first place to slow the traffic down and our proposals are not about letting the traffic move faster, but about making the area safer for both pedestrians and motorists.”

Cllr Tyler, who said the islands were originally installed by the Highways Agency and not Dudley Council, claims in the seven years after the islands were in place there were no serious incidents.

“The islands were done for a purpose and that was to improve the traffic flow and reduce the number of accidents, and they have done both,” he said.

“The statistics say that before the islands, there was 22 serious accidents, in the seven years after they were installed there was none.

“Either of the proposals of putting in a big island or traffic lights will take up far more of the external land as it would involve taking the front gates off the church, the trees around the junction will have to go and it will mean removing some of the pavement in front of the two pubs.

“People should remember that these are not the only mini-islands in the country and also what the backlog of traffic was like before they were there.

“So for all these reasons, I cannot support the implementation of something that could jeopardise people’s lives.”

Stourbridge News:

Labour Wall Heath Councillor Dave Tyler is against any changes to the mini-islands.

Cllr Neale said she has received positive feedback from local people about the petition which was launched on Saturday.

She said: “It was the main issue that was raised with both Nicola and I when we were canvassing before the local elections in May.

“But this petition is just about finding out how much support we have from the local community to alter the islands, so we can put the views of the people of Wall Heath to the council and not our own.”

Cllr Hilary Bills, Dudley cabinet member for environmental services, said: “The traffic islands were introduced by the Highways Agency a number of years ago and have been successful in reducing the number of road traffic incidents.

“However, we are aware of a few concerns and so have asked for an independent safety audit to be undertaken.

“We’re yet to see the details of the petition but we will be happy to discuss their concerns once it has been received.”

The petition can be found in various shops around the High Street area.