No more lights

In my opinion a(nother) set of traffic lights in the area would be foolhardy to say the least. Experience has shown that the lights installed at the M5 junction caused huge delays at peak hours (particularly in the morning). This has resulted in the lights being turned off for the morning rush hour. At other times, with the lights working, you regularly sit at red lights with an open road in all directions. Similarly the lights on the A38 at Grovesend Road, Thornbury generate more traffic hold-ups than they are worth.

Considering the facts put forward in the consultation I don't think they stand up to serious scrutiny in support of traffic lights. I do however agree a roundabout would be a non-intrusive way of supporting good traffic flow, particularly from the Thornbury area in the morning, and resolve some of the safety issues.

although unfortunate for those involved, five accidents in the last 3/4 years hardly seems a traffic blackspot.

How often is the M5 closed? There are various permutations of M5 closures, not all of which would make it difficult for traffic turning north from the B4509 onto the A38. In the rare instances that problems are experienced a traffic officer (Highways Agency or Police) could be placed at the roundabout to control traffic flow.

Holiday traffic does not seem to generate unusually heavy flows on the A38.

Apart from the days when there are cycle races, you rarely encounter cyclists on the A38. Motor cycles are more common, although still pretty low in number.

The 'intelligent' traffic lights famously failed at Junction 14 of the M5 In conclusion I believe new traffic lights would offer little (or no) benefit to road safety or traffic flow. However they would come at significant cost (both capital and revenue) and would have an environmental impact with traffic needlessly stopping and starting. I hope the negative experience of the M5 signals is borne in mind and sense prevails.

Peter Cornelius Lynch Road Berkeley