Campaign for traffic lights at bridge thrown out

A campaign for traffic lights at a bridge in Coventry has been rejected.

Nearly 150 people signed a petition calling for lights at the St James Lane bridge in Willenhall "to prevent collisions... due to limited visibility when approaching and driving" across it.

But lights could cause congestion and have no measurable impact on road safety, the city council said.

A signal-controlled junction would require a capital investment of about £150,000, together with ongoing maintenance and electricity costs, a report stated.

The petition said having lights would "allow traffic to cross the bridge in one direction at a time".

It stated the bridge had "a blind spot making it difficult for drivers to see vehicles approaching from the opposite side and so are forced to proceed with limited visibility".

The petition added due to the blind spot, "many motorists have witnessed situations where approaching buses or large vehicles could not be seen on time".

"This has forced drivers to reverse on the bridge to avoid collisions, creating a significant safety risk, particularly during busy periods when there is little or no space to manoeuvre."

But accident logs showed only one personal injury collision had been recorded at the location in the last three years and "that was associated with a police pursuit rather than normal traffic use", the council said.

Portable signals had been added temporarily to try out the idea and surveys were undertaken to assess their impact on the flow of vehicles, the report explained.

Results showed signals led to "a significant increase in queue lengths throughout the day when compared with the existing arrangement".

Sixty percent of people locally opposed putting in permanent signals, citing concerns over more congestion and delays, a consultation found.

"Opportunities to amend the existing kerb line" approaching the bridge from the London Road side were being explored and subject to approval from National Rail, the bridge structure owners, would "be progressed in the future", the report said.

The amendment was intended to help vehicles navigating the bend on the approach to the bridge "by increasing carriageway width", it stated.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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