Cllr Roger Rigby has argued that action must be taken to tackle a surge in morning rush hour congestion following the opening of the new Bedford Western Bypass.
Cllr Rigby has been contacted by residents in Bromham & Biddenham Ward who are concerned that the road network from the Clapham Road end of the Bypass through to Manton Lane is unable to cope with the volume of commuter traffic.
He has also backed a local residents’ petition for that area, discussed at a meeting of the Borough Council last week, calling for options to be explored to relive pressure on the road network. He said the petition and the concerns of his residents in Bromham & Biddenham are two halves of the same problem.
‘The new Western Bypass has done its job but during the morning rush hour it has actually made matters worse with growing logjams due to heavy volumes of traffic with the need to access schools, including Bedford Modern School, and businesses on Manton Lane.
‘What has become clear is that traffic previously using Bromham Road needing to pass through the Sainsbury’s roundabout was filtered by the queues in Bromham Road and Shakespeare Road. That is no longer the case now the Bypass has opened.
‘The Council acknowledges it needs to review the traffic flow figures in this area following the opening of the Bypass, which I welcome, It also agreed to work with local schools in finding a solution to reduce congestion.’