A WORK scheme on one of the main roads into Looe has been modified after intervention by the town council.
Day time traffic lights had been set to be in place on Station Road for six weeks in July and August as work to repair a wall belonging to BT is carried out.
But there was outcry from local businesses and residents, who said that the traffic management could not have come at a worse time of year during the peak of summer holiday congestion in the town centre.
Councillor Armand Toms said that the repair work in Station Road was safety critical – but that after “much discussion” with Cornwall Council the town council had agreed changes in order to reduce the duration and impact.
Traffic lights will now be used for just three weeks, with manual control rather than automatic, and with an extended working day of 7.30am-5.30pm in order to get the job done more quickly. To reduce the impact there will be no traffic lights set up over the weekends.
The contractor has also agreed to put extra resources on site.
Cllr Toms said: “The works are safety critical and the contractor has provided a structural engineer’s report that justifies the requirements to carry them out. We have managed to reduce the overall duration by working with the contractor who in turn has agreed to provide extra resources to accelerate their programme. If the works were not for safety reasons we would have not agreed the traffic management but the evidence and justification show the need for the works to take place.
“We will add pressure to the contractor to complete the traffic light phase as soon as possible.”
The scheme itself had been agreed in May and Cllr Toms added that the question had been asked as to why the job could not have been carried out earlier in the year.