FED up residents who live around Boot Hill in Weymouth are demanding immediate action to try and find a quick resolution to traffic congestion problems they have branded an “absolute nightmare.”

At a heated public meeting hosted by the Green Party’s recently-elected county councillor Clare Sutton, more than 30 residents packed into the Old Town Hall to air their views and to try and form an action plan to end the congestion crisis.

Representatives from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and officers from Dorset County Council also attended.

For nearly three hours, residents spoke of their frustrations at increasing traffic congestion and volume of traffic on the road, increasing air pollution due to exhaust fumes, road safety concerns, anger over poor monitoring of the air quality in the area and how the results were not a true reflection of what residents suffer.

Members of the community also spoke about how changes to the junctions and the removal of roundabouts and the installation of traffic lights as part of the Olympic transport tlan had exacerbated problems.

Chickerell Road resident Tony Sanders said: “Since the traffic lights went in it’s been an absolute nightmare.

“There are always queues, and the lights only let three or four cars through at a time. It also causes dangers because if you are waiting to cross the road you don’t bother waiting for the lights because they take so long.”

The meeting heard statistics from DCC that on average over the past five years, 21,000 cars a day travelled up and down the road, with the figure gradually decreasing.

However, residents said it wasn’t the number of cars on the road that was the main issue, but the fact that cars are often at a standstill and the road is congested, causing more pollution.

Cllr Sutton said in a Green Party survey, 81 per cent of residents who replied said they felt the changes to the road system had made things worse.

Phil Austin, a resident of Boot Hill, added: “When we came out this morning, all we could smell was burning clutches, it is absolutely horrendous.

“The sheer volume of traffic is unbelievable, it’s horrendous compared to what it used to be.

“The place is going to be choked to death.

“They thought it was clever to put the traffic lights at the top to let more cars through, but it just winds people up. People just dodge across the road because they have waited for so long. Somebody is going to get killed soon.”

Air pollution data collected by diffusion tubes and the air quality monitor opposite the Rodwell pub were also shown, although the monitor had broken down for nine months between August 2014 and July 2015.

It showed air pollution in the area was high, although it was not deemed excessively high by European standards. It was also explained that results had been adjusted to match EU regulations.

There was a heated discussion regarding the results, with many saying it was not a true reflection of what they suffer, and that because of the adjustment, and the location of the monitors, it was not a fair reflection of what residents suffer.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Mike Harries, director for environment and economy at Dorset County Council, promised the council would look into ways of improving the junction and the air quality, and that slight improvements such as road signs asking people to switch their engines off as they wait at the lights were already being considered.


AIR pollution data collected by diffusion tubes and the air quality monitor opposite the Rodwell pub were also shown, although the monitor had broken down for nine months between August 2014 and July 2015.
It showed air pollution in the area was high, although it was not deemed excessively high by European standards. It was also explained that results had been adjusted to match EU regulations.
There was a heated discussion regarding the results, with many saying it was not a true reflection of what they suffer, and that because of the adjustment, and the location of the monitors, it was not a fair reflection of what residents suffer.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, Mike Harries, director for environment and economy at Dorset County Council, promised the council would look into ways of improving the junction and the air quality, and that slight improvements such as road signs asking people to switch their engines off as they wait at the lights were already being considered.