Hoping measures will drive away congestion

10:47am Tuesday 25th March 2008

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TRAFFIC management measures in a town centre are to be changed in another attempt to solve its severe congestion.

Bexley councillors say these will finally help resolve traffic problems in Sidcup, which followed the arrival of the Safeway supermarket -now Morrisons - behind Sidcup High Street.

Cabinet member for transport Councillor Peter Craske has spent 18 months looking at the problem and consulting residents and businesses on what to do.

More than 900 responded and there were two public meetings and more than 200 letters to the council, giving people's views on how to remedy the situation.

The council also surveyed all the town's key junctions from 7am to 7pm every day for a week to determine traffic flows and congested areas.

Cllr Craske told last week's cabinet meeting the surveys had shown the volume of traffic travelling north to south through the town was four times heavier than traffic going east to west.

A proposal to introduce a one-way system in the town has been dropped.

Instead, two sets of traffic lights along Elm Road will be removed in an effort to speed up the movement of traffic.

The traffic lights at the Elm Road/Jenner Close junction at the entrance to Morrisons will be replaced by a mini-roundabout, with part of the council car park taken to widen the junction and realign it with Carlton Road.

Lights at the junction of Elm Road and The Green will also go and the priority junction will be restored.

There will also be improvements to the bus layby in Elm Road, near the junction with Main Road.

A new mini-roundabout will be created at the other end of the High Street, at the junction of Rectory Lane and Sidcup Hill.

At the other north/south approach to the High Street from Station Road, the junction with Longlands and Hatherley Roads will be widened to allow traffic to turn right more easily.

And the phasing of the traffic lights at Hurst Road, Hatherley Road and the pedestrian crossing by the station will be linked, to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

It was decided not to put more traffic-calming measures in Tyron Way and Sydney Road and to keep the road closures in St John's Road and Church Avenue.

Representatives from the town's residents' groups were in the public gallery to hear ward councillor June Slaughter, who said: "I am confident these measures will make a big difference to the traffic flow in Sidcup."