P-04-667 A Roundabout for the A477/A4075 Junction, Correspondence – Petitioners to Committee, 04.03.20
Petitions Committee
Welsh Government.
Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff.
CF99 1NA
REF:- Petition P-04-667 – Roundabout for the A477/A4075 Junction
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you as a member and nominated representative of Cosheston Community Council with regards to the above petition that is due to be considered at your next meeting on Tuesday 3rd March 2020.
Representatives of our council, together with members of Pembroke Town Council last year met with Simon Hart MP and Angela Burns AM to discuss and highlight the issue(s) regarding the safety of the junction known locally as ‘Nash Fingerpost’, as well as the stretch of road to the West of it which travels towards Pembroke Dock.
Whilst we welcome both the traffic survey’s and enhanced safety reviews that we understand are to be carried out by the end of the financial year, we are somewhat disappointed that the issues concerning the safety record of the stretch of road to the West of this junction seem to have been ignored.
The 1 mile stretch of the A477 trunkroad to which I am referring lies approx. 0.5 miles west of ‘the Fingerpost’ and encompasses 2 ‘staggered’ crossroads that serve the busy service village of Cosheston. These ‘staggered crossroads were created as part of the road straightening/improvement scheme which was undertaken approximately years ago.
Our concerns as a council are that this stretch of road is particularly dangerous around these 2 crossroads due to the lack of decent lighting, road markings (both in paint and reflector studs), signage and in inadequate Refuge/Central Turning Lanes.
Travelling East from Pembroke Dock on the A477, the first staggered crossroad junction that you come to is known locally as Slade Cross. This junction is the main access road to the village of Cosheston, as well as being a very well used access to Pembroke. The junction has no lighting whatsoever, has very poor signage, the coloured road marker studs are inadequate and the Refuge/Central Turning Lanes that are in situ to aid crossing of the carriageway are too narrow and are not really fit for use. The Highway Code states that the proper use of these types of Central Turning Lane is to drive straight onto it, not blocking and allowing any vehicles coming from your left to pass the front of your vehicle in order to themselves turn, before yourself pulling out onot the carriageway. The 2x Refuges/Central Turning Lanes, one which enables traffic to drive in/out of Cosheston by crossing the A477, the other which enables traffic to drive in/out of Pembroke (by way of what’s known locally as Mylett’s Hill) by crossing the A477, are both too narrow and do not allow proper use as stated by the Highway Code – there is not enough room to sit in the Turning Lane to allow vehicles to pass the front of your vehicle without the rear of your vehicle protruding onto and slightly obstructing a live lane of traffic on the busy A477. I do not have statistics to hand, but local knowledge of accidents on this junction should be backed up in official statistics/Police reports.
Approximately 0.5 miles further East along the A477 from Slade Cross junction is the staggered crossroads known locally as Scoufields Cross. This is a second access into the village of Cosheston via Broadford Lane and also an increasingly used ‘rat-run’ to access Pembroke via a road known as Mutton Hill. This junction has no lighting, no road markings in either paint or by way of coloured marker studs, very poor signage and no Refuge/Central Turning Lane. In order for any motorist to turn off the A477 onto Broadford Lane or onto Mutton Hill, then this requires traffic to be brought to a dead stop on what is recognised as a very busy trunkroad, used regularly by HGV’s travelling to/from the ferry terminal at Pembroke Dock. The lack of a Refuge/Central Turning Lane together with no lighting, poor road marking and poor signage at this particular junction has resulted in at least 3 major accidents in the last 18 months, 2 of which requires the air ambulance. Official statistics/Police reports will I’m sure back up my claims and would probably highlight many more serious accidents over a longer time period.
The three ‘main’ junctions East of Pembroke Dock – Slade Cross, Scourfields Cross and Nash Fingerpost, are getting to be busier junctions with traffic travelling East out of Pembroke Dock and wanting to turn right, crossing the Westbound A477 Carriageway to access Pembroke. Since the introduction of the new traffic lights at Pembroke Dock’s Waterloo Roundabout and new Traffic Lights on Pembroke’s Bush Hill, commuters are increasingly using the above stated junctions as ‘rat-runs’ to try to reduce their travelling times to/from work. Some of the lanes that are being used were not designed for the level of traffic using them, but the contentious issue is that to access these lanes, they must first use these poorly designed junctions to cross the A477.
As previously stated, we as a council welcome the Safety Review and Traffic Survey planned for Nash Fingerpost, but would also request that the issues I have addressed above regarding the Slade Cross and Scoufields Cross junctions are also reviewed and revisited.
In our opinion, Slade Cross needs to have its 2x Refuge/Central Turning Lanes widened and possibly marked with designated ‘lanes’ as is currently in use at the Nash Fingerpost junction. It also needs to be illuminated – it sits in a hollow and is a very dark, poorly marked junction difficult for even residents to judge, let alone holiday makers or Foreign HGV drivers on the busy A477. With regards to the Scoufields Cross junction, we feel that this incredibly dangerous junction at the least warrants a Refuge/Central Turning Lane to protect motorists from having to stop dead in a busy live carriageway in order to make a turn. Better signage and road marking would also be an improvement but the main ‘life saver’ would be a Refuge/Central Turning Lane.
We feel that the above points are not only valid, but essential, in order to make this stretch of the A477 safer. Please consider and hopefully act on our suggestions before more members of the public are killed or injured.
Many thanks in advance,
Nicholas A. James (on behalf of)
Cosheston Community Council