FIVE LAMPS

An urgent review of the controversial Five Lamps traffic lights was approved by Derby City Council. It followed a motion calling for the review by the council's Tory opposition group. The new traffic lights at the Five Lamps junction, which began operating on December 11, have received severe criticism for the long tailbacks that they have created. Councillor Sara Bolton said at the time of planning that, "They should ease congestion on Duffield Road improving bus reliability.

The improvements are fully integrated to make travelling along Duffield Road or Kedleston Road easier, as well as safer, for all forms of transport." Last month, Councillor Philip Hickson, leader of the Conservative group, was close to calling for the £330,000 lights to be switched off altogether. However, despite receiving hundreds of telephone calls, letters and e-mails from residents complaining about the lights, he finally asked last night for the council cabinet to review the operational effectiveness of the lights.

He said, "I feel it's important to acknowledge the concerns of residents who are experiencing an increase in their travelling time. We want to alleviate the problems without getting rid of the whole scheme." Councillor Sara Bolton, cabinet member for planning and prosperity, admitted that the scheme was still being improved but pointed out some of the positive objectives of the scheme which had been achieved. Referring to a traffic study which monitored traffic and the length of the queues before and after the introduction of the lights, Ms Bolton maintained that journey times had not altered.

She said, "Queue lengths have been longer but overall journey times have not altered, some are shorter and some are longer." Whether or not drivers will agree with this statement remains to be seen, but she added that other road-users were happier with the junction. "Facilities for pedestrians and other vulnerable road-users have greatly improved and the number of people rat-running in residential streets has been reduced," she said. Ms Bolton did not provide the meeting with statistics to back up her claim.

Mr Hickson conceded that the scheme had been successful in some ways. He said, "Clearly this is something the council didn't do on purpose, the scheme was meant to alleviate, not exacerbate, the congestion problems. The amenities in the area have been improved but the scheme needs tweaking." He suggested a number of things to be considered in the planned review. These included creating a permanent filter from Garden Street into Kedleston Road, unless the pelican crossing had been activated, so that traffic could flow more freely and that the timing of the lights should be reviewed to see if better traffic flows could be achieved.

Ms Bolton said, "It's still being monitored and we're looking for a sensible solution" adding, "these new lights were much needed at this busy junction." Councillors approved a £10,000 package of measures designed to improve the Five Lamps traffic lights scheme. The move was given the go-ahead at a meeting of Derby City Council's cabinet. The measures include the installation of a £3,000 sensor system that will detect how long queues are and adjust the timing of the lights accordingly.

A permanent filter light will allow traffic from Garden Street to flow freely onto Kedleston Road to improve traffic flow. The Five Lamps traffic lights scheme had come in for criticism from some motorists who claimed congestion had risen since the lights were switched on in December. But the cabinet hailed it as a success. Councillor Sara Bolton, member for planning and prosperity, said, "The aim of the scheme was to make it safer for pedestrians and I feel we've achieved that." Councillor Martin Repton, member for leisure and cultural services, said, "These adjustments will further improve the scheme."

Derby City Council's traffic engineers have carried out the first part of the £10,000 of improvements to reduce traffic at the Five Lamps. The sequence of the traffic lights in Garden Street, leading to Kedleston Road and Duffield Road, has been staggered to ensure drivers can move through the junction more quickly. Now traffic wanting to turn left into Kedleston Road does not have to stop with traffic heading for Duffield Road or motorists who are driving back into town. Signs are also to be put up following complaints that the new traffic lights are confusing and are making the area dangerous. Maybe one day they'll get it right.

A car was flipped on to its roof and two people were taken to hospital after it collided with another vehicle in the latest accident at the controversial Five Lamps junction. Now residents are calling for Derby City Council to take immediate action to reduce the number of accidents before someone is killed. This accident is the sixth at the redesigned Five Lamps junction since September.

A resident, whose home in Kedleston Road looks onto the junction, said, "Accidents are occurring too regularly in the Five Lamps area. The council didn't listen to anyone around here when it decided how it was going to design the junction. The problem comes from the confusion of the traffic lights. The easiest solution would be to make Kedleston Road and Duffield Road one-way so there's no crossover of traffic." The council maintain the accidents are nothing to do with the lights. No?

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