£500,000 Weymouth roadworks 'are unnecessary'

11:30am Friday 5th October 2012 in News By Laura Kitching

WORKS: Preston Road WORKS: Preston Road

A COUNCILLOR is urging residents to speak out before £500,000 of taxpayers’ money is spent on an ‘unnecessary’ roads overhaul in Weymouth.

Borough councillor Ian Bruce believes better signage is all that is needed on Preston Road and Dorset County Council should spend the money more wisely.

The cash is earmarked for traffic calming for cyclists and pedestrians as on Preston Road and on Dorchester Road as part of the relief road scheme.

Coun Bruce is meeting with county councillor Peter Finney today to ask why ‘the safest main road in Weymouth’ is the focus for traffic calming when other areas like Southill have campaigners calling for road safety measures.

He said: “We shouldn’t be using money on an unnecessary scheme, even if it’s national taxpayers’ money, particularly as the scheme is deliberately designed to make it more difficult for motorists to use the totally useable traffic system on Preston Road.

“I’ve asked for figures on how many accidents have occurred there as that would be what you’d have to show if you were trying to get this road safety scheme passed without ‘free government money’.

“We all know it’s not free. It’s our money being spent out of a different pot.”

Coun Bruce said the signs on Preston Road need improvement and that visitors still cannot understand how to get to Weymouth or the beach.

Coun Bruce urged residents to go online to look at the council’s plans for the area and have their say.

Dorset County Council said that the Preston Road part of the scheme would be limited to £250,000. The project aims to reduce the volume and speed of traffic on Preston Road and encourage traffic to use Littlemoor Road and the relief road. It also aims to improve walking and cycling facilities.

The proposals were included in the Weymouth Relief Road business case, and are being funded through the relief road scheme.

A council spokesman said that if the Preston Road scheme does not go ahead it cannot be guaranteed that the money will be spent in the Weymouth and Portland area, as the funds will either go back into the Dorset County Council central budget or back to the Department for Transport.

People can view the proposals and fill out an online a questionnaire at dorsetforyou.com/weymouthreliefroad

DOZENS of residents attended three public exhibitions on the Preston Road proposals.
The Dorset County Council scheme aims to improve life for pedestrians and cyclists and to slow traffic between Chalbury Corner roundabout and the Overcombe corner junction.
Project manager Mike Read said £500,000 was available ‘on this corridor’ as part of the Weymouth Relief Road package, which also had set aside funding for safety measures on Dorchester Road.
Mr Read said the money was ‘not transferable’.
The work, which will take 12 to 15 weeks to complete, is set to begin early next year following the outcome of public consultations.
Plans are available to view online at dorsetforyou.com/weymouthreliefroad with a questionnaire.

Comments(27)

lostnfound says...
12:10pm Fri 5 Oct 12

The article states 'The work, which will take 12 to 15 weeks to complete, is set to begin early next year'.
Sounds like if everyone in the county (or even in the country) objected to it, it will still go ahead, regardless. Perhaps because, if alleged rumours are correct, DCC officials end-of-year bonuses depend on them spending the money).
It says that the scheme aims to slow traffic between Chalbury Corner roundabout and the Overcombe corner junction. If traffic along this road was generally over the speed limits, I am sure that the revenue gatherers (aka Traffic police) would be constantly posted there to add to their coffers in the same way as they are on the wide section at the eastern end of Littlemoor Road which does not have houses either side of the road and children are supervised during the relevant times by crossing patrols but has been fitted with a plethora of street lights worthy of a motorway with the consequence of the 30 mph speed limit.

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JelliedEel says...
12:23pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Does Ian Bruce actually live on the Preston Road? It is not always about accident figures and statistics.

Every morning from 5am onwards lorries and Council trucks hammer down the road shaking the foundations of the house as they pass by.

Later in the day when there is more traffic on the road the lorries have to keep to speed and there are no shock waves felt going through the house.

If you do live on the main road your day starts at 5 in the morning whether you want it to or not.

Clearly something needs to be done to slow these vehicles as they know there wont be any police prescence at that time in the morning.

Putting up signs, as suggested in the article, would be of no use whatsoever on their own.

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lostnfound says...
12:34pm Fri 5 Oct 12

JelliedEel
FYI, Ian Bruce does live on Preston Road.
It may be a nuisance for you but perhaps you could take some time to make a note of the registration numbers of these offending vehicles and report them to the appropriate authority.
Personally, I would never choose to live on a main road even though the traffic is now minuscule compared with the time when we would queue from the top of King Street with nose-to-tail traffic all the way home to Preston. It is unusual for traffic to be as busy as depicted in the photo above.

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bollywood says...
1:26pm Fri 5 Oct 12

So why now are Councillors worried about spending a mere £500,000 on the roads when they have wasted millions on unnecessary so called improvements that don't change anything other than cause even more traffic problems.

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siratb says...
1:36pm Fri 5 Oct 12

How about use the money to build a cycle path along Preston road? We don't need "traffic Calming" along that road and frankly anyone who buys a house on a main road only has themselves to blame for the noise.

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The Big One says...
2:42pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Poor Mr Bruce. He failed as an MP and seems to be going nowhere as a councillor!! If all he can do is complain about is this, then it's a sad state of affairs for us all.

Preston Road is a problem and has always been a problem with speeding motorists - hence the number (albeit fewer lately with the decreasing number of traffic police in the county) of the number of times speed traps, either with a gun or in the back of a van, appear.

As a regular cyclist along this road, I have, at times, had to take avoiding action when being overtaken by a lorry or a bus - especially the bit between Mr Bruce's house and Melstock Avenue.

No Mr Bruce. Your government is giving the money. We use it wisely - and cut down on speeding mororists and a potential serious accident - or lose it. Any traffic calming on this road will be welcome - and I don't even live there!

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lostnfound says...
3:15pm Fri 5 Oct 12

The Big One
You talk about a potential serious accident along this road, I don't remember reading about any that have already happened and a potentially serious accident could happen anywhere on any road - are you suggesting that we taxpayers should pay unnecessarily to slow down traffic and build cycle paths on each and every road or perhaps you would be in favour of re-introducing a man with a red flag preceding every vehicle, this would find jobs for the unemployed but you might encounter problems in overtaking the consequent queues of traffic (:o))
Instead of cycling along Preston Road, you could consider going along Wyke Oliver road and Oakbury Drive but beware, lorries and buses also go along there.
I don't remember seeing speed traps along Preston Road, either with a gun or in the back of a van, since the relief road was opened, perhaps you can tell us facts on when and where they appeared recently, I am sure that the Echo would have informed us about the proliferation of drivers of speeding vehicles on Preston Road caught and prosecuted.
Would you would be happy if the many trees along the southern end of the road were chopped down to accommodate your cycle path?

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RobinofLocksley says...
3:55pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Surely, the extensive improvements to Littlemoor Road were done so that traffic coming from the east would go along it from Chalbury roundabout and link to the relief road. Preston road below the roundabout would therefore become a lot less used. No?

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ronfogg says...
7:10pm Fri 5 Oct 12

I would agree that the section from Wyke Oliver to Overcombe will continue to be unsuitable for bicycles. That's why improved cycle access from Chalbury Corner to Wyke Oliver would be very useful. This section of road is too wide anyway. I seem to remember a pedestrian being killed crossing it a few years back. The island near the Wyke Oliver entrance has been extremely useful since it was built.

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annotator1 says...
8:28pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Don't forget, we really need some more intelligent traffic lights, like the one half way up Boot Hill that only changes when there is traffic against it, streams coming down the hill and then they turn red. No one coming down Boot Hill and they stop the traffic turning into Chickerell Road, when it is clear. Absolute madness and totally incomprehensible!

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bnaty12 says...
9:24pm Fri 5 Oct 12

Take the brown envelopes from this stupid waste that's not needed and spend it , instead of borrowing it, on the brown envelopes for the Ferry Terminal which we actually NEED.

It is about time they started arresting civil servants!

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bnaty12 says...
9:26pm Fri 5 Oct 12

lostnfound wrote:
JelliedEel
FYI, Ian Bruce does live on Preston Road.
It may be a nuisance for you but perhaps you could take some time to make a note of the registration numbers of these offending vehicles and report them to the appropriate authority.
Personally, I would never choose to live on a main road even though the traffic is now minuscule compared with the time when we would queue from the top of King Street with nose-to-tail traffic all the way home to Preston. It is unusual for traffic to be as busy as depicted in the photo above.
Wouldn't a blooming speed camera be a lot cheaper than 500k . Or is that too much simple wisdom for the idiots?

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niceonecyril says...
9:30am Sat 6 Oct 12

bollywood wrote:
So why now are Councillors worried about spending a mere £500,000 on the roads when they have wasted millions on unnecessary so called improvements that don't change anything other than cause even more traffic problems.
"What traffic problems have been caused?? Absolutely none, you are an idiot for suggesting so.

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portlandboy says...
10:25am Sat 6 Oct 12

Ian Bruce might get closer to finding out why this waste of money "traffic calming" measure is being suggested if he asks for figures of how many councillors, ex-councillors and officials live within the area that will see property values rise if less traffic uses the road.

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bollywood says...
4:57pm Sat 6 Oct 12

nice one cyril - try living in the Rodwell Area and see what a mess the traffic system on the Boot Hill corrider is. The farce that is King Street - good job the ferry is not here as having to go to Westerhall before coming back on the esplande is a waste of time and fuel. The carbon footprint for Weymouth must have greatly increased with wasted fuel of cars sat at red lights with not another vehicle in sight and traffice lights that burn brightly with no money for street lights. Cannot turn left in Wyke and Chickerell Roads is crazy. And this is my opinion, it does not make me an idiot.

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sandman223 says...
5:40pm Sat 6 Oct 12

Bollywood...

Why would you use King Street to get to the ferry terminal? I would suggest, commerical road then westham road brtinging you to the statue and then turning right on the esplanade opposite the bus stop. Also, how is Boot Hill any different to how it has been for many years?

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lostnfound says...
6:31pm Sat 6 Oct 12

sandman223
Do you really think that a stranger or someone who comes to the town once a year to catch the ferry is going to know this convoluted route?

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bollywood says...
11:19am Sun 7 Oct 12

I should have said visitors travelling from Dorchester area to the ferry having no right turn on King Street. Tell me the quick route from Rodwell Avenue to the Admiral Hardy. More cars are having to use the Boot Hill corridor than used to because of the lack of left turns, that area gets blocked because cars have to sit in a queue go t too the bottom of Boot Hill then come back up the hill to get onto Chickerell Road.

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weymouthfox says...
4:46pm Sun 7 Oct 12

Look at the dangers created by the council through Radipole Village. By narrowing Preston Road and putting in pinch points, our council clowns will try to make Preston Road unattractive to drive down. Why can't the excess money be used to put the pineapples back to where they should always have been, at Ridgeway?

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sandman223 says...
8:51pm Sun 7 Oct 12

lostnfound.......

Im sure that someone who comes to the town once a year will not really be that bothered using the king street route and adding a mere 2 mins onto their journey anyway.

Bollywood.....

A quick route from Rodwell avenue to the Admiral hardy..... Walk??? This could be the reason so many cars are on the road causing traffic delays.

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Trackerman says...
12:38pm Mon 8 Oct 12

weymouthfox wrote:
Look at the dangers created by the council through Radipole Village. By narrowing Preston Road and putting in pinch points, our council clowns will try to make Preston Road unattractive to drive down. Why can't the excess money be used to put the pineapples back to where they should always have been, at Ridgeway?
Here Here!!!

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willimac says...
2:35pm Mon 8 Oct 12

As a resident in the area, I am not sure that these improvements are warranted although, a cycle path would be useful. A few years back the bus route was changed as there were no funds for traffic lights for vehicles (buses) joining the Preston Road from Melstock Avenue. The return of the bus route along Oakbury Drive towards the town centre would be of more value to locals I suspect.

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Phaedrus says...
6:18pm Mon 8 Oct 12

While speeding traffic is a problem in Preston Road, and crossing it could be made safer, this is basically about red tape. Preston Road is no longer an A road and the suggested route from Chalbury Corner to the town centre is via Littlemoor Road and the Relief Road. Therefore the mandarins think people should be discouraged from using it despite the fact that the alternative is about twice the distance, not a negligible factor for many of the residents of Preston, Osmington, and Sutton Poyntz. If these works do not reduce traffic will they introduce speed bumps or some other stupidity? All yet another reason to go to Dorchester instead.

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weypaul says...
8:19pm Mon 8 Oct 12

Civil servant job creation scheme, pure and simple. If you want to reduce raffic speed, use self illuminating signs telling you your speed. They work!!!! Oh and the police could actually sit at Overcombe Traffic lights and catch a few of the hundreDs of drivers who go through when red, EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

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willimac says...
10:47am Tue 9 Oct 12

As a resident in the area, I am not sure that these improvements are warranted although, a cycle path would be useful. A few years back the bus route was changed as there were no funds for traffic lights for vehicles (buses) joining the Preston Road from Melstock Avenue. The return of the bus route along Oakbury Drive towards the town centre would be of more value to locals I suspect.”

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Monmouthsman says...
1:20pm Tue 9 Oct 12

Clearly the case for doing this work was flaky in the first place and has been further eroded by building the new Littlemoor Road super highway and redirection of traffic.
To introduce the hazardous situation of having shared cycle and pedestrian paths especially around a roundabout would seem criminal especially when considering the hard line policing of the banning of cycling on the much wider Esplanade.
To add to that, the dangerous situation for cyclists on the road for the non-improved Eastern end stretch of Littlemoor Road and consequential dangerous increase in cyclists using the pavements would be made even worse by this work.
I am sure that there are very few people who could not supply a list of ways to spend this money to better effect than the degradation of Preston Road.

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isitonlyme says...
1:33pm Tue 9 Oct 12

My Dad's house backs on to Preston Road near Overcombe and says how much quieter it is this year. Easy ways to spend £500,000. (1) Remove all signposting to Weymouth which points drivers down Preston beach road. (2) Put lay-bys for bus stops along Littlemoor Road which will keep traffic moving. (3) Remove the traffic lights at the end of Littlemoor Road/Dorchester Road and replace with mini roundabout - very irritating sitting at a red light when no traffic is going past. (4) Reopen Littlemoor toilets - visitors stopped me on several occasions in the summer to ask where the nearest toilets were and I had to direct them to Weymouth as even Southill toilets are closed

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