NEW £2M PLAN FOR FIVE LAMPS

Two £2m schemes to improve traffic congestion and cut down on bottlenecks at one of Derby's controversial junctions have been drawn up. The options have been put together to change the city's Five Lamps junction, and if one of them is backed by people in the area the scheme could get under way in 2006. Traffic lights at the junction, installed at a cost of £325,000, have caused uproar among motorists who say that the tailbacks and traffic congestion have been made worse by the new signals. And now Derby City Council has said that it is hoping to make further changes to the junction as part of a scheme that has been tied in with the King Street link of the equally controversial Connecting Derby project.

Connecting Derby will complete the inner ring road and increase access for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. Two new options, expected to cost between £1.5m and £2m to put in place, have been drawn up to combat traffic problems. Councillors and officers say that the installation of the traffic lights at Five Lamps was only an "interim" measure and that, now the lights have been running for a few months, it is time to consider a longer-term solution to ease the traffic congestion and bottlenecks in the area.

There also appears to be confusion about how the new lights could fit into a new scheme, as council deputy leader Philip Hickson said that the lights could possibly be removed. However, Lucy Care, cabinet member for planning, transportation and environment said, "The options for further change being considered would not remove the lights". Councillor Hickson had said that the lights could be removed as part of the new scheme. He said, "There's still widespread public concern about the Five Lamps junction and congestion in King Street. These are two options going out to consultation to further improve the situation. My understanding always was that the signals were only a temporary solution pending further alterations to the junction. When we moved forward with this scheme, my belief was that that would be the end of the lights."

Again the "Five Lamps" is in the news. First it was traffic jams, then resetting of the lights and junction rearrangements, then a proposed new layout and now numerous accidents. When is the council going to hold up its hands and say: "We got it wrong". The one common sense solution to be offered by a member of the public has been totally rejected. That proposal is a one way system, out of town along Kedleston Road and into town along Duffield Road, with Broadway acting as a one-way link between the two. A bus lane could be added to Kedleston Road into town, encouraging commuters to take this faster route to town, and there would still be room for on-street parking for residents and students. The bus lane should/ought to reduce traffic along with eliminating the rush hour delays. So come on DCC own up, you got it wrong. R Taylor

A temporary bus lane has been marked on Duffield Road, Derby, between Church Lane and Broadway which has made the road into three lanes. People living in the area have said it is already causing difficulties. Members of the Duffield Road Action Group are protesting against the lane and are planning to write to the city council to call for its removal. They have also started a website, www.duffieldroadaction.co.uk, outlining their objections.

Simon Bucknell, who lives near to the Broadway pub, said, "It's a nightmare when a bus and a lorry are travelling toward the city centre and there is a car coming the other way. I had to mount the kerb the other day to let a lorry squeeze past. It just isn't safe." When the city council first announced plans for a bus lane in Duffield Road last year, it received 181 letters of objection and a 202-name petition against the proposal from people worried the bus lanes would take up existing parking spaces on the sides of both roads.

A city council spokeswoman said it is hoped the new lane would encourage more people to use buses and that the authority consulted with local residents before its introduction. She said, "We sent out 11,000 leaflets to people in Duffield and Darley Abbey. Exhibitions were also held in St Benedict School and St Nicholas' Church in Allestree, telling people about what we wanted to do. About two weeks ago, we also gave leaflets to people in Duffield Road and Broadway telling them the lane was coming into effect."

The bus lane will operate for an 18-month trial period and it will be monitored by the council. The spokeswoman said the authority was liaising with the police to make sure the road was monitored and that people were using the correct lane. Work will also be carried out over the next two weeks to install pedestrian refuges at Duffield Road's junction with Broadway. The changes are costing £100,000 and are funded by the Government through the Derby Local Transport Plan. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Feb/07)

The temporary bus lane in Duffield Road, between Church Lane and Broadway, is to be reviewed after three months rather than the planned 18. It has provoked criticism from residents living nearby who say the road is too narrow for three lanes and is now more dangerous to use. The new layout means there is a bus lane, one carriageway into the city and one coming out of the city towards Duffield.

At a meeting, hosted by Duffield Road Action Group, around 60 people attended to discuss the bus lane, including Chris Wynn, city council cabinet member for planning and transportation. Resident Simon Bucknell, of Duffield Road, showed video clips of traffic using the new road layout. He said, "There are serious problems with the new layout. Cyclists simply do not have enough room to use the road. If the council will not listen to me, I will take this issue nationally."

Mr Wynn told the meeting that because of residents' complaints the bus lane would be reviewed after three months and not 18 months, which was the original plan. He said that he thought the road had become a lot safer since the introduction of the bus lane. He said, "Before the bus lane was introduced the road had fast-moving traffic and now the road has traffic that is moving at a safer, slower speed. Although it seems that it is more dangerous, it actually isn't." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Mar/07)

The Duffield Road Action Group have learned that the temporary bus lane goes against Department of Transport advice. Engineer Peter Steer was called in by residents who are opposed to the temporary bus lane. As well as the new lane for buses travelling into Derby, there is one carriageway for other vehicles going into the city, and one going towards Duffield. Residents asked Mr Steer to measure the three lanes because they believe they are now too narrow and dangerous to drive and cycle along.

He found that outside St Benedict School the bus lane was 3.25 metres wide, the central lane measured 3.2m and the northbound lane 3.1m. At Ferrers Way, he measured the bus lane at 2.9m, the central lane at 3.6m and the northbound at 2.8m. The Department of Transport has said it favours a width of 4.5 metres for lanes used by buses and cyclists, although it stresses that it is up to individual councils to decide.

Cyclists say they have been clipped by buses because the lanes are not wide enough. Double yellow lines have also been painted along Duffield Road to stop parked cars obstructing traffic and the speed limit has been cut from 40mph to 30mph. Residents claim the new lanes make it difficult for them to pull out of their drives safely and that visitors have nowhere to park because of the double yellow lines. Council traffic control manager, Tony Gascoigne, said, "It is less than the recommended width but we feel the lanes are wide enough." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Mar/07)

The final section of a controversial bus lane opened on Kedleston Road, with critics condemning it is a "joke" and "a waste of money". The lane, which cost £130,000, runs along the city-bound section of the busy road. The section near Five Lamps and St Alkmund's Church has been open for two weeks. Motorists have raised concerns about the section towards Five Lamps, where parking spaces reduce the width. And as the final section was opened, one resident said that the system was "a joke" and a waste of public money.

She said, "There are two sections, both of which give precedence to buses of no more than about 100 yards each time." Another said, "A road which used to be two lanes is now three and cars have to squeeze by. When I was riding my bike to work, cars were getting very close to me. They had no space because of this new lane. I will probably have to cycle on the pavement in future because it is probably safer. There is no need for a bus lane on Kedleston Road. Parts of it aren't wide enough." Conservatives pledged to scrap the bus lane in their manifesto before they took control of the city council.

But Councillor Chris Poulter, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said, "Documents for the bus lane were signed off before the Conservatives took control of the council. The traffic regulations are now in place for six months. We cannot scrap the bus lane immediately because of these traffic regulations. However, we will monitoring it over time. We have ordered a full review on the Kedleston Road bus lane as well as many more across the city." Alex Hornby, commercial director at Trent Barton, hoped the lane would encourage more people to use public transport.

He said, "Giving the bus its own lane will ensure buses don't get caught in the rush hour traffic. Now the traffic should be able to flow quite well." Plans for the lane were devised when the council was controlled by the Lib Dems. The Government paid for it. Councillor Lucy Care, the city council's former head of transport, said residents' concerns were considered when the plans were drawn up. She said, "The people's main concerns, about loss of parking, and narrow lanes, have been addressed by not including the central section near the shops by Cowley Street in the scheme, and doing works to improve the road surface in some places." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/10)