Action needed to reduce the traffic (From Gazette Series)

Action needed to reduce the traffic

SIR - I read last week's report into the Berkeley Town Council's demands for a new bypass from the A38 to Sharpness with a mixture of bewilderment and disappointment.

Bewilderment because anyone who has taken any interest in the local roads debate will know that the construction of a brand-new road is simply not an option the county council is willing to consider or to fund. And disappointment because action is required now to alleviate the increasing levels of traffic on local roads and the town council's call for a new road confuses the issue and adds little to the debate.

Furthermore, rather than voting to upgrade Alkington Lane as the best alternative option, the town council would have done better to throw its weight behind the current county council recommendation to reroute all large vehicles via the B4066, a road which is built to take HGV traffic.

The recent county council survey revealed that Alkington Lane (which is nothing more than a country lane ) has experienced a 32 per cent increase in traffic since 1998 and now carries 60 per cent of HGV movements to and from Sharpness, a quite astounding set of statistics by any standard.

And all this on a carriageway where two HGVs are unable to pass safely without slowing to a walking pace. Little surprise therefore that there have been four accidents on the lane in the last two years, leading to its complete closure while the emergency services are left to pick up the pieces.

The situation worsens daily and sadly it is probably only a matter of time before someone is killed on Alkington Lane because it is entirely unsuitable for the size and volume of vehicles currently using it. The statistics from the county council say it all, but Berkeley Town Council prefers to keep arguing for options which have already been dismissed and are little more than pie in the sky.

Far too much time has been wasted talking through all the various options, alternatives, costs and benefits. The time has now come to act and to lobby for the county council recommendations to be carried out before someone is killed.

Only time will tell whether Berkeley Town Council is an integral part of that process or a bystander on the sidelines of the major local issues.

Michael D Hill, Alkington Lane, Berkeley