MELKSHAM Town Council is to explore how road safety can be improved at the double roundabout that connects Sandridge Road, Forest Road and Lowbourne.
A resident has raised concern with the council that some drivers travelling on Sandridge Road towards the town centre are unaware of the two roundabouts and are not stopping to give way to traffic turning right from Forest Road.
They say that drivers are assuming that Sandridge Road continues uninterrupted, connecting with Lowbourne, and has explained that they and others have witnessed a number of “near misses” and fear it is only a matter of time until there is a “serious incident”.
In response to the concerns, the town council resolved at a meeting last week for the town clerk, Linda Roberts, to have an informal chat with a member of Wiltshire Council’s highways team about possible solutions.
Initial ideas from councillors about how safety could be improved were to check that road signs are “clear and clean”, “up-to-date” and in the right place.
It was also suggested that additional signage may be needed on Sandridge Road, giving more advance warning of the roundabouts.
“The real issue here is that people are ignoring the signage that is there – so perhaps additional signage could be put in advance of the roundabout?” suggested cllr Jon Hubbard at last week’s meeting.
The resident’s letter to the council said, “Traffic travelling along Sandridge Road into town (via Lowbourne) often do not see that there is a roundabout at the corner of Sandridge and Forest Road.
“This has caused many ‘near misses’ between people turning right from Forest Road onto Lowbourne and people travelling along Sandridge Road into town.
“Vehicles travelling from Forest Road to Lowbourne (right turn) have right of way and vehicles travelling along Sandridge Road must give way. However, from my own observations and that of the residents that live along Forest Road, there have been many near misses where the correct right of way has not been given.
“This is not due to drivers deliberately ignoring the road rules, but simply because drivers think that Sandridge Road is continuous straight onto Lowbourne.”
