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Cuts put A31 roundabout revamp on hold

6:00am Monday 19th July 2010 in


A £5.7 million improvement project to a notorious traffic hotspot in Wimborne is the latest victim of government spending cuts.

The Highways Agency had hoped to slash the average peak-time journey around Canford Bottom roundabout by 13 minutes before an estimated 60,000 cars travel down the A31 daily during the 2012 Olympics.

But project managers cancelled a briefing for councillors on Thursday in light of proposed funding cutbacks.

Neil Andrew of the Highways Agency wrote: “It would be inappropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the Spending Review by making future commitments now about individual schemes which have not gone into construction.

“With this in mind we are not in a position to advise you on the future programme or the availability of funding. I appreciate that this news will be a disappointment to you.”

A spokesman added that work would continue on the designs.

The Echo can reveal that plans for the six-junction roundabout include widening the A31 by five metres and feeding it through the middle of the roundabout and building a walkway with “toucan” crossings.

Better lighting and 18 sets of traffic lights would also be installed during the works, which were due to start in May 2011 and be completed by January 2012.

The measures, stretching 300 metres up the A31 and up to 50 metres on local roads, would shorten journey times, increase safety and cut pollution.

Residents are constantly worried about the roundabout, which becomes “like a car park” in summer months, according to Janet Dover, Dorset County councillor for Stapehill and Colehill.

Markings are too narrow, resulting in “side swiping”, she said.

“As a pedestrian you really take your life in your hands to get across. It’s very, very difficult, and cyclists are very much at risk, too.”

Cllr Dover added she had some concerns about the suggestions, and would like to see a public consultation.

A decision is expected in October.

Comments(18)

Palantir says...
11:23pm Sun 18 Jul 10

It's about time lights came in on that roundabout! I use it every day to get to work and again to get home, and it's a nightmare getting on the thing, and nobody knows what lane to use!

And the congestion gets so bad going onto the Wimborne bypass that it all just backs onto the roundabout and halts traffic from Ham Lane - bring in lights and let's sort this mess out!

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McVICAR says...
11:32pm Sun 18 Jul 10

Roundabouts have had their day, they worked well when the traffic was not as heavy as it is today, something else needs to take their place, either slip roads where possible or traffic lights, but roundabouts are outdated these days.

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EGHH says...
6:23am Mon 19 Jul 10

Its going to be so much fun when the Olympics arrive - NOT! The Weymouth Relief road is going to be a joke as all it does is to make the journey to getting stuck in the centre of town faster. No upgrades to roads to Portland I see. Umm fun!!

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Jim_Springbourne says...
6:58am Mon 19 Jul 10

That roundabout is a complete nightmare. You have to take a risk just to get onto it especially from Canford Bottom. I am amazed that there arn't more accidents there.

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R1200RT says...
7:18am Mon 19 Jul 10

I have to use this ridiculous roundabout eight times a day. The confusion caused by the road markings has to be seen to be believed. It must be the most dangerous roundabout in the County. I have lost count of the number of drivers I have seen exchanging details after side swiping each other. Hope the Highways Agency get their act together and sort out this monstrosity.

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dvdr says...
7:34am Mon 19 Jul 10

It should not cost a lot to get the road lane markings sorted out, even if nothing else is to be done (for the time being - much more absolutely has to be done in the long run). Heading west on the A31, the lane markings are quite wrong for the Wimborne direction. Before the roundabout the three lanes marked are left (OK), straight ahead for A31 (OK) but also straight ahead for the right turn into Wimborne - which changes on the roundabout itself from straight ahead to right turn (which it should have been so marked all the time). This is a firm recipe for trouble, and those unfamiliar with the site can be excused for getting it wrong and banging into others. Paint cannot be so expensive as to be impossible, but some real thought by road planners would not come amiss. We could even save money by sacking the one who thought up the road markings as they are now!

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crispy_pants says...
7:58am Mon 19 Jul 10

These are government spending cuts but Bournemouth have plenty of money to waste. Check out the new parking and cycle lane in Kings Park.

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Afcbpete says...
8:20am Mon 19 Jul 10

When the Wimborne byepass was built, many said it needed a dual carraigeway, but at the time was going to cost I believe an extra £6 million. Locals said that was short sighted. Yet another instance of inept local and County councils

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HughJarse says...
8:25am Mon 19 Jul 10

Please, not another traffic lights installation on a roundabout. "18 sets??" - where will these go? Will they still operate between 10pm - 7.00am using more electricity at an ever-increasing cost to the motorist? Clearer signs & road markings on all approaches please -most problems occur due to people trying to 'overtake' on the roundabout, due to the low average speeds on the approaches to either side.

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likestocomplain says...
8:51am Mon 19 Jul 10

Why cant we have a stright through route such as an underpass or flyover, the A31 is a joke of a road anyway NEEDS TO BE A DUAL CARRIAGEWAY ALL THE WAY

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uberbloke says...
9:52am Mon 19 Jul 10

The whole area is fubar'd

I use wimborne as the wimbourne bypass bypass!

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Pepper Pig says...
12:44pm Mon 19 Jul 10

Whilst I agree that if you've never driven around this roundabout then the markings can be just a little confusing; the vast majority of drivers who use this roundabout do so at least twice daily (or even more often if some posts are to believed), and so they should know which lane to be in! If they don’t know then perhaps they shouldn't be trusted to drive at all.

I negotiate this roundabout twice a day during the 'rush hour' and I believe that the majority of the problems are not caused by poor layout or road markings but by impatient drivers. We all know that if you are staying on the A31 (whichever direction) then you stick in the middle lane on the lead up onto the roundabout. Unfortunately it has become a common, almost endemic practice for impatient drivers to use both the outside and the inside lanes to bypass the traffic queue as if they were about to turn left or right only to slip back into the A31 lane. These lane switchers are the drivers who cause the problems as they reduce the natural gaps in traffic and prevent vehicles from Wimborne etc joining the roundabout. It’s not the design of the roundabout but the way in which it’s abused that’s causing the problems!

Oh, if they decide to install traffic lights on this roundabout I hope they also install cameras to catch those that will undoubtedly jump the lights.....

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McVICAR says...
12:45pm Mon 19 Jul 10

crispy_pants wrote:
These are government spending cuts but Bournemouth have plenty of money to waste. Check out the new parking and cycle lane in Kings Park.
And a new one on Iford bridge, what a waste of money that was.

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Nickolai says...
3:48pm Mon 19 Jul 10

Bring the railways back to this area !

Let's end this folly of endless grid-locked roads, getting worse and worse every year.

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benjamin says...
4:01pm Mon 19 Jul 10

The M27 should be extended to replace the A31 and A35 right through to the M5.
The Weymouth Relief Road is a joke. When the Olympics are at Weymouth, it will be best to avoid all road travel in Dorset.

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News Fanatic says...
5:59pm Mon 19 Jul 10

I cannot believe how expensive roadworks are. For £5m you could put up a large office block or umpteen houses. Where does the money go?

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Palantir says...
6:58pm Mon 19 Jul 10

Pepper Pig wrote:
Whilst I agree that if you've never driven around this roundabout then the markings can be just a little confusing; the vast majority of drivers who use this roundabout do so at least twice daily (or even more often if some posts are to believed), and so they should know which lane to be in! If they don’t know then perhaps they shouldn't be trusted to drive at all.

I negotiate this roundabout twice a day during the 'rush hour' and I believe that the majority of the problems are not caused by poor layout or road markings but by impatient drivers. We all know that if you are staying on the A31 (whichever direction) then you stick in the middle lane on the lead up onto the roundabout. Unfortunately it has become a common, almost endemic practice for impatient drivers to use both the outside and the inside lanes to bypass the traffic queue as if they were about to turn left or right only to slip back into the A31 lane. These lane switchers are the drivers who cause the problems as they reduce the natural gaps in traffic and prevent vehicles from Wimborne etc joining the roundabout. It’s not the design of the roundabout but the way in which it’s abused that’s causing the problems!

Oh, if they decide to install traffic lights on this roundabout I hope they also install cameras to catch those that will undoubtedly jump the lights.....
I use it twice daily and still haven't fathomed it BECAUSE THERE ARE NO MARKINGS ON THE ENTRANCES!

I also nearly get sideswiped pretty much every day as well.

Are you syaing I shouldn't be trusted to drive at all because someone can't mark out a roundabout properly?

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upontown says...
5:45pm Tue 27 Jul 10

I don't suppose a flyover was considered or would that cost £££?

Traffic lights won't help at all because those at the front fall asleep after waiting so long for them to change and then there's the rest of the queue who are doing everything else except watching the car in front! Perhaps if everyone paid a little more attention and tried to do things right for a change then we would all get from A to B in less time. 20 mins less.

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