DRIVERS have questioned Wiltshire Council’s claim that traffic lights along the A350 in Melksham are coordinated.
The council told Melksham News that traffic lights along the stretch of the A350 through Melksham had been “linked to maximise flows through the junctions following the recent Farmers Roundabout improvements.”
But drivers say this is nonsense and that there is no coordination between the four sets of traffic lights from the roundabout to McDonald’s / Aldi.
One told Melksham News, “The last time I drove along there I was stopped at all four sets of traffic lights – McDonald’s, the Bath Road junction, Asda and the main roundabout. To suggest they are co-ordinated is laughable.
“Most of the congestion at peak times is caused by the traffic lights; it’s stop start, stop start. If they linked them up, they would solve most of the problems. It might even save them millions of pounds from building a new bypass.
“It’s frustrating every day to be caught up in long tailbacks because the lights aren’t co-ordinated.
“In this day and age, they should surely have the technology to do that and to monitor the build up of traffic; quite often the lights change to let just one or two cars out of Asda or McDonald’s even when the traffic on the A350 is really busy and backing up badly.”
Last month, Melksham News asked a series of questions of Wiltshire Council linked to the proposed new A350 bypass. One concerned the traffic lights along the A350: “Has Wiltshire Council considered the positive impact that could be gained from co-ordinating the traffic lights at Asda, Bath Road and McDonald’s? A ‘green light corridor’ with all the lights on green at peak times could considerably improve traffic flow without the need for a bypass.”
The council’s reply was, “The traffic lights at several locations are currently linked to maximise flows through the junctions following the recent Farmers Roundabout improvements.”
• What do you think? Email news@melkshamnews.co.uk or write to 31 Market Place. SN12 6ES
