Calls for Improvements to Island Bottle Neck

There have been renewed calls for a roundabout in Lower Road after a recent traffic light failure eased, rather than added to, congestion.

Signals at the junction of Barton Hill Drive were temporarily out of action following a crash.

A telecommunications box was destroyed in the two-vehicle accident on September 14.

Island taxi driver Neil McLennan, said drivers had enjoyed a jam-free three days before normal service resumed.

He said: “It was lovely. Everyone treated the Barton Hill Drive, Lower Road junction as a T-junction.

“It meant everything flowed freely. I think the longer traffic lights are off in Lower Road, the better it’ll be for drivers.”

Lower Road suffers regular congestion during peak hours.

During the evening rush hour, Eastchurch and Leysdown-bound traffic tails back as far as Cowstead Corner roundabout and sometimes beyond.