Notorious road junction all set for new layout

By adam wilshaw awilshaw@c-dm.co.uk

A PLAN to install traffic lights at a notorious road junction was this week due to be approved for local consultation.

As the Journal revealed last week, Devon County Council is considering a £630,000 scheme to improve the Westleigh Junction on the A39 between Barnstaple and Bideford.

A report due to be considered by the authority's cabinet yesterday recommended that councillors approve the new layout for consultation with parish and district councils, and the public.

Another report will then be brought to the cabinet for consideration.

The report states that since the opening of the road there "had been a problem of collisions at the A39 Westleigh junction".

Although the design of the junction "met the design standards at the time it was constructed" its layout was not like any other on the A39.

The accident rate at the junction was relatively low, the report states, with an average of 2.6 "injury accidents" every year between 2004 and 2008.

A safety review in 2007 found the main problems were: traffic turning right from A386 colliding with east-bound A39 traffic; traffic turning right from A39 to the A386 colliding with east-bound A39 traffic; a high proportion of accidents involving elderly drivers (eight out of 13).

The council was expected to dismiss these four options:

● Ban all right-hand turns, at a cost of £240,000. Officers decided this would "transfer" accidents elsewhere and cause congestion in Bideford.

● Ban right-hand turn from the A39, at a cost of £240,000. Wouldn't have all the safety benefits of banning all right-hand turns but at considerable cost, officers found.

● An alternative right-hand lane, at a cost of £480,000. Dismissed because it would not provide benefits and would create two potential conflict points.

● A mini-roundabout, at a cost of £1.42 million. Dismissed because high cost would give "relatively low rate of return on investment".

The fifth option, which members were expected to support, involves installing traffic lights. The council can afford the traffic light option.

The report stated: "While the A39 is a high speed all purpose road, the nature of the approaches to the junction mean it would be possible to give high visibility to a traffic signal installation".

A safety analysis showed this option would reduce accident numbers.

The report states traffic on the A39 will "increase significantly during the next 15 years" as more homes are built.

Motorists who had not necessarily been in collisions complained the junction had caused them confusion.

The Journal launched a campaign for safety improvements in September 2009 after the death of 84-year-old John Allison.

More than 400 people filled in campaign coupons, which the Journal then presented to Devon County Council.

● A LAND agent has slated the plan to install traffic lights at the Westleigh Junction as a "half-hearted endeavour to resolve issues on the cheap".

Raymond Coldwell, the land agent for Christie Estates, said prime agricultural land was compulsorily purchased by the Government under the "pretence" of a roundabout being built.

Mr Coldwell said the fact the land had not been used for a roundabout was "grossly unsatisfactory".

He said: "The appalling carnage that has occurred is a direct consequence of penny-pinching and political games."