The gap in the central reservation on the A34 by Whitemill Lane is to be closed off.
Staffordshire County Council has made the decision and will be carrying out the work because of the number of accidents there, all involving vehicles turning right out of, or into, Whitemill Lane.
Article continues after this message
In the five years from 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2013, the county says there were 10 personal injury accidents – with two classed as serious. A letter from council engineer Guy Pryer to people living on Whitemill Lane and nearby, states:
Stone town councillors debated the issue in February, with concerns raised about the extra traffic that could hit Eccleshall Road/Manor Rise and the air ministry estate as a result of the A34 gap closure.
11 comments
mr g m reeves
the council just have not got a clue as to the chaos this will cause by closing this gap they will just be moving the problem elsewhere, they are also closing the small gap opposite Long field Avenue which will mean everyone will have to travel down to the B P roundabout to come back to go to Stafford which will add a distance of 2 miles to the journey and if the M 6 is closed for some reason the traffic on the A 34 would be horrendous. also some vehicles will choose to go along Manor Rise thus turning Manor Rise into a through road, to come out onto the Eccleshall road which is very busy at certain times of the day, also they are building 500 houses just past Longhope Drive just imagine when they are built all that extra traffic on Eccleshall Road. The people that came up with this should be sacked due to incompetence and lack of understanding of the problems they are going to cause .
Councillor Mrs Jill Hood
The public meeting went really well and many really informed comments and alternatives to closing the gap were put forward. Disappointment over lack of communication by the Highways department re the closure was expressed and a unanimous decision to hold a further public meeting was taken.It was agreed to invite all ward councillors Bill Cash MP and the representative from Highways. If you want to make your views known then we have been told work is imminent so act quickly write to Sir Bill Cash MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA . County Councillor Ian Parry Wedgwood Building Tipping Street Stafford ST16 2DH or email him ian.parry@staffordshire.gov.uk and also County Councillor Philip Jones write to him at High Trees House Old Road Stone Staffs ST15 8US 01785 812981 or 07800 885163 or email him at philip.e.jones@staffordshire.gov.uk
Stone55
One thing that sticks in my mind is how poor the roads are going up to the Eccleshall road from the estate will Philip Atkins be resurfacing these roads before the gaps closed,? I very much doubt it
Dom Hanmer
These people are about as forward looking as a rear view mirror. The problem is, people turning right out off Whitemill Lane not only have to look right at speeding traffic coming off the roundabout, but left as well at people turning onto the estate from Stoke. This having to look left as well as right at speeding traffic, is the reason accidents are happening. Simple solution…Drop the speed limit to 30mph until after the junction. Square off the run in from the Stoke direction that enables people to cross the central reservation and make it a ‘no right turn’. No U-turn. So basically if you want to go onto the estate from the Stoke direction, you just have to go around the roundabout. A small price I think the residents are willing to pay rather than a gap closure. Can you imagine the mayhem on the Eccleshall Road and Manor Rise – which is practically single lane due to residents parking – if this madness goes ahead?
Councillor Mrs Jill Hood
A public meeting will be held at Walton Community Centre at 7pm Friday March 13th to discuss the A34 gap closure between Whitemill Lane and the Fire Station I hope you will attend
Mrs Helen Morris
Totally disgusted that we live on this estate and use Whitemill Lane junction daily to get to and from work but have had no consultation (like most people living here) on the decisions taken by people that haven’t got a clue. Agree with Mr Smith’s comment above, Traffic lights would be the best idea for all. To use Manor Rise in the state it is in with potholes and parking would be even more dangerous.
H. Morris
Councillor Mrs Jill Hood
The gap closure was discussed only 2 weeks ago by a full Stone Town Council. Councillor Philip Jones chaired that meeting. Every councillor gave reasons why it should not happen. It was agreed on behalf of the Stone Council the Town Clerk would write to the County Highways with those objections .. I was shocked when residents began calling me yesterday to say they had received letters from County Highways saying the gap closure would go ahead. Surely in such a short time without consultation they couldn’t have made such a quick decision? All became clear and I was shocked and outraged when I found out that County Councillors Ian Parry and Philip Jones had supported the closure way back in September without any consultation with the residents of Walton. Philp Jones did not inform the Stone council as he chaired the meeting that he had already supported the closure. I urge you to write to his leader as I have ( leader of the county council) Councillor Philip Atkins philip.atkins@staffordshire.gov.uk
Councillor Mrs jill Hood
J F Smith
How about upgrading the junction with traffic signals to give appliances from the fire station priority to travel north along the A34 as well as improving access to and egress from Whiitemill Lane for all traffic? I suggest that a little imagination on the part of the Highway Authority would be a good idea!
stephen
Totally agree with you J whittle. The roundabout is not fit for purpose during busy periods, traffic jams from all directions. So why not have a brain wave and add even more traffic to the bottleneck….And that’s before all the vehicle’s from the extra housing, but whoever said that our councillors had a brain to wave.
L whittle
Absolute madness! The councillors who voted for this obviously do not live locally otherwise they would see the queues of traffic on Eccleshall Road already. To divert the flow of traffic through Whitemill Lane/Walton Way/Manor Rise onto Eccleshall Road is totally irresponsible. The survey was done in 2012, traffic flow will have increased since then. Have they taken into account all the new builds they have given planning permission for? Especially the estate to be built at the top of Eccleshall Road. Did they do the survey when the motorway closes and the traffic is diverted down the A34? I don’t think so. They estimated in 2012 that 678 vehicles use this junction in a 12 hour period, where do they think they will use when it is closed, do they really think an average of 2 accidents a year justifies closing it? Crazy!