AMID mounting safety concerns, the junction of St Peter’s Way and Birmingham Road in Stratford has been closed to traffic as roadworks continue.
The junction had been kept open for residents to access their frontages during the improvement works to Birmingham Road by Warwickshire County Council.
But since works commenced on September 16 a significant volume of traffic has been using St Peter’s Way rather than following the signed diversion route along the Warwick Road including lorries and buses.
From on-site visits and through engagement with residents it was clear that there were near misses involving vehicles on the carriageway, pedestrians being nearly struck on the footpath and damage caused to parked vehicles.
With the situation becoming a matter of safety, the council took the difficult decision to put heavier immovable barriers in at the end of St Peter’s Way, adjoining Birmingham Road, and divert traffic to the signed diversions for the next six weeks, until the closure on the Birmingham Road is scheduled to be lifted.
WCC’s ward member for Straford North, Coun Tim Sinclair took to social media to address concerns regarding the closure of the St Peter’s Way/Birmingham Road junction as well as speaking directly to many residents who had contacted him about this, both those for and against.
He said: “I absolutely understand and sympathise with residents who are experiencing the disruption and inconvenience that the temporary closure of St Peter’s Way/Birmingham Road junction is bringing. The decision was taken by the county council officers that safety had to be paramount and consequently they had to close St Peters Way to traffic from the Birmingham Road. St Peter’s Way remains fully accessible from Bishopton Lane for residents living along the road.
“The officers felt that the vehicles that were using St Peter’s Way as a thoroughfare were bringing an unacceptable level of risk to residents and their parked vehicles, as well as to themselves. St Peter’s Way was never designed to cope with HGVs or buses or the high volume of traffic it was seeing.
“I have been assured that the project team will do everything they can to get the work finished promptly and reopen St Peter’s Way and lift the closure on Birmingham Road to minimise disruption.”
Work on the first stage of the scheme is set to end in six weeks, pending weather or unexpected obstacles.
