Whitpot Mill. |
Recent traffic calming / width restriction road works at Whitpot Mill on the old Torquay Road at Kingskerswell have angered local residents. “It is only a matter of time before there will be a serious road rage type incident through these narrows and we feel we need to highlight this now rather than being accused of being wise after the event” said Alliance chairman Richard Hamlyn.
The narrows at Whitpot Mill have always been a difficult stretch for vehicles to pass each other and drivers of commercial vehicles have acted irresponsibly in the past by using this route. However the measures that have been put in place have made a poor situation much worse and accidents and structural damage to the narrow lanes around Kingskerswell are now inevitable.
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The road engineers have now placed permanent concrete width restrictors at either end of the narrows along with speed humps immediately prior to entering the narrows. These require great care to be taken entering the narrows to avoid damaging ones car and it makes it almost impossible for all but the most able drivers to reverse out. It is still impossible for a motorist entering one end of the narrows to know if another driver has entered at the same time from the other end, and it is difficult for cars to pass each other within the narrows, especially if one of them is a light commercial vehicle or a private vehicle towing a trailer. Since the scheme was intoduced there have been reports of up to 12 or 13 cars being damaged in a day. Before these “improvements” there may have been a temporary impasse but it was always resolved by one or other of the drivers backing out and allowing the traffic to clear. However the new layout is like a trap, once the unsuspecting motorist is inside it is almost impossible to get out and a total log jam, or worse, is inevitable. |
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The object of these works has been to try and discourage vehicles from using this road as a “rat run” and as such it is already a demonstrable failure. All that is happening is that traffic is forced onto Maddacombe Road and Church End Road if going into the village, or on to Greenhill Road if trying to continue on to Torbay. Both these roads have narrows where vehicles have to give way to each other. Since the introduction of the scheme there have been numerous minor accidents, some involving injury. Local residents have also seen skid marks appearing on the roads as testament to the near misses! Greenhill Road has already suffered damage to its banks, with post being knocked down as vehicles try to squeeze through. Skid marks of 30’ have recently appeared on the road surface, laid down by frustrated motorists. |
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The junction between Maddacombe Road, Greenhill Road and Church End Lane is also dangerous and unable to cope with the increase in traffic. In short rather than curing a problem they have just multiplied it and moved it a few yards further down the road. “ It would appear that these highly qualified engineers have failed to consult and listen to local people who know the real situation better than they do” said Mr Hamlyn. Another example of counter productive alterations can be seen at Aller Cross, where the traffic priority road markings have recently changed. Members of the Alliance have monitored the traffic flow during busy periods at this crossroads and have recorded 25 vehicles approaching from the Decoy direction for every 1 vehicle approaching from the Barn Owl pub direction. The give way lines used to reflect this until the priorities were changed and the result is now regular traffic jams all the way back to Langford Bridge. The Kingskerswell Alliance is campaigning for improvements to be made to the existing A380 so that motorists would not be tempted to use “rat runs” as the solution to the current traffic congestion. “We may not be traffic engineers but common sense shows that a Penn Inn flyover would make a world of difference. Couple this with a pedestrian bridge / underpass at Jury’s Corner and a proper junction with the Ring Road at Hamelin Way and the A380 would be transformed without a need to build an environmentally disastrous and unnecessary bypass” said Mr Hamlyn. Paul Bright, Kingskerswell Alliance Vice Chairman commented “The Penn Inn and Hamlin Way junction improvements are part of the proposed bypass scheme anyway. Perhaps if all parties were to unite on the common ground between them, then maybe we could get something done now. This scheme has been around for 50 years and yet has delivered nothing to the motorist and local communities". |
