Gloucestershire villagers mark anniversary of temporary traffic lights with birthday cake

The lights have been in place for more than a year Credit: LDRS

Frustrated Gloucestershire villagers marked the first anniversary of the introduction of temporary traffic lights on a major road with a birthday cake.

It has now been more than 15 months since temporary traffic lights were installed at Broadham in Painswick which has restricted the traffic flow on the A46 to a single lane.

Conservative Councillor Susan Williams recently raised the issue at the latest corporate overview and scrutiny committee.

She spoke of how frustrating it has been for residents and how hard it has been to get information from the council on the structural issue affecting the road.

She said: “I was wondering if it would be possible to perhaps make a request that members of departments think about their communication to councillors a little bit better.

"I personally have had to fight to get information for an update on a structural issue on a bridge for over a year.

“I found that incredibly frustrating and I know that the residents in that particular area have been pulling their hair out and they even had a birthday cake on the side of the road to celebrate that we’ve still not heard anything.

“It’s really taken a lot of pushing, just for them to say actually this is the issue.

“I just ask if perhaps communication could be better. I know if I report potholes, it’s perfect. I can’t fault it, they come back straight away and the response for that is very quick. But when it’s a major road with a major issue, it would have been helpful.”

Deputy Chief Executive Steve Mawson said the council is working to improve its systems.

He said: “If the normal system of contact fails, it nearly always gets escalated to a councillor.

“What we are trying to do is make that part work properly so the councillor doesn’t need to get involved.

“For me, if a customer has to come and escalate something to you, we’ve failed in the first place to sort it out properly.”

Residents say progress with the issue still seems to be slow and the lights are still in place.

Credit: Local Democracy Reporter/Carmelo Garcia