Campaigners back £150,000 'solution' for Portishead junction

A solution could soon be reached over a controversial road junction in Portishead.

But the latest plans to redesign the Cabstand junction will cost £150,000 to put in place.

If the new scheme is approved by North Somerset Council, it would see an end to the controversial traffic lights, which were installed in July 2005.

Residents have repeatedly complained about the lights, even marching up Portishead High Street in protest.

Now, after three years of delays, a system of mini-roundabouts and zebra crossings is being proposed to take their place.

Councillor David Jolley, one of the leaders of the campaign against the lights, says he is backing the scheme but senior figures at North Somerset Council need convincing it is worth the £150,000 cost.

He said: "At long last, an approved solution for Cabstand that satisfies the health and safety requirements for pedestrians and the motorists has been arrived at.

"A solution that connects the marina with the High Street, where pedestrians are provided with proper zebra crossings and motorists with two mini-roundabouts.

"This ought to make crossing the road safer and quicker for pedestrians and allow motor traffic to filter and disperse, as it does through similar junctions up and down the country.

"The missing link to convincing the executive to proceed is that some councillors don't see Cabstand as a problem and believe change is unnecessary."

Last October North Somerset's ruling Conservatives agreed to a trial of switching the lights off and painting temporary mini-roundabouts across the junction.

However, this was vetoed on health and safety grounds.

The new proposal is to install raised zebra crossings at the bottom of Nore Road, across Station Road and to replace the traffic crossing on the outbound lane on Wyndham Way with another zebra crossing.

The traffic lights will be replaced by two mini-roundabouts.

To install the roundabouts, the council said it will extend the 20mph zone from the leisure centre to the top of High Street.

Councillor Jolley said: "The highway consulting firms that have been involved from day one both predict that the two mini roundabout system will clear the junction more quickly.

"Although the remedy is not cheap, at £150,000, there is a highways and transport capital budget of more than £3 million to be spent across the district this coming financial year."

A decision on the proposal for the Cabstand junction will be taken by a committee of North Somerset Council members later this year.