City plans to switch off its traffic lights
Hereford County Council is planning to switch off its traffic lights in a bid to solve congestion problems.
Transport Chief John Harrington proposed the bold move as the local authority revealed the next stages of their review of major road schemes.
He put plans for a city bypass and Southern link road on hold and commissioned reports on the schemes after his group got into power last year.
The council is looking for alternatives if the road schemes are axed and among those is removing the signals along the A49.
Cllr Harrington is expected to confirm the review programme of the Hereford Transport and South Wye transport packages on January 24.
The plan for the switch off is gaining traction as drivers reported smoother commutes after lights failed last Wednesday (15 January).
Cllr Harrington said they have discussion with two senior officers at Highways England who say they were 'very happy for us to go ahead and consider traffic light removal'.
Tests would be run to establish whether removing traffics lights on the A49 is feasible.
The RAC say removing 'unnecessary traffic lights' could lead to 'more reliable journey times' but any changes must be balanced for all road users.
The Institute of Highways Engineers told us congestion could be eased by the use of alternative traffic control measures and that there would be safety concerns over proposals to remove traffic lights at pedestrian crossings.
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