Express lane danger fears
Saturday 6th December 2008, 5:30PM GMT.
Wellington Town Council is taking on retail giant Tesco over plans to create an “express” lane for superstore customers at one of Telford’s most notorious bottlenecks.
Tesco hopes to widen the access road to three lanes and scrap the mini-roundabouts leading to its store at Wrekin Retail Park.
It claims this will end the gridlock which has plagued the site over the last few years. But Wellington town councillors fear it will make things worse for people trying to shop at places such as Matalan, Home Bargains and McDonalds.
A planning application from Tesco has gone to Telford & Wrekin Council and work could start in January if permission is given.
Tesco manager Jim Bradford, speaking when the road plan was unveiled, said: “We have about 40,000 customers a week, virtually all of whom arrive by car.
“The sheer volume of traffic going in and out of the retail park at peak weekends and Christmas and Easter is a major headache.
“If councillors give planning permission, I am very confident we will see the end of traffic problems at Wrekin Retail Park.”
Tesco’s proposal is to widen the access, create a feeder lane down the middle and get rid of the mini-roundabouts.
Tesco shoppers would drive straight through, with right of way, on what would effectively be their own dedicated road.
But Wellington Town Council’s planning committee has lodged an objection on the grounds that the scheme would make traffic problems more difficult and dangerous.
It adds: “Large quantities of trafffic would back up. The safety of traffic leaving McDonalds would be jeopardised.”
Town councillor Roger Aveley said: “I’ve been a driving instructor since the early 1960s and I know what works and what doesn’t – and this won’t work.
“If you shop at Matalan you’ll be sat fuming in your car for ages trying to get out while Tesco customers sail past.
“At least at the moment Tesco traffic has to slow down to negotiate the mini-roundabouts.” He added: “We are not trying to spike Tesco’s plans. We are just trying to be sensible about it.”
Councillor Aveley said one answer might be to create a second slip road into the park.
By Peter Johnson
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This story is no surprise. Tesco seem to be trying to create these express routes, (or “Zil lanes” as they are known in Russia), which give Tesco clients precedence over other members of the public. In Madeley, there will soon be a shiny new Tesco with loads of traffic created and they want to do the same thing to cars to Kemberton Road, creating danger and frustration for drivers trying to exit out of Prince Street from Bennetts motor spares, Tweedale Crescent estate and the new Oakdene estate. It can be hard to do so even now, before the store is built, with at least one accident a month, but it will become a lot worse once all of South Telford starts converging on Madeley every hour of the day. And the council? Well, they aren’t even prepared to drop the speed limit on Kemberton Road from 40mph to 30 mph to try to help matters, never mind that traffic from Madeley to Cuckoo Oak roundabout is effectively hidden by the brow of a hill. No doubt there will be similar hand-wringing by the council in a few years time. Don’t they ever do impact assessments BEFORE they allow development to proceed anywhere? Seems to me that the rush for new council tax and business rates, (coupled to their seeming reliance on outside consultants who don’t know the area), blind them to the simple realities of public safety.
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half a dozen new traffic lights should cure the problem. Look what a success they have been all over Telford. whilst they are at it maybe they could change the dual carriageway into a single track Rd. Fantastic problem solved!!!!
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why not have 3 lanes of traffic, 1 going straight to tesco’s, 1 going to where ever your going e.g matalan, nettos. and the other one going back to the main road,and if your going to mcdonalds or KFC, then you use the tesco road.simple, now this will help.
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There should be a new slip road of the rounabout going straight into and out of Tesco’s carpark this way Tesco shoppers will not need to go on the roads leading to Matalan etc
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Something does need to be done on this retail park but I dont see why Tesco shoppers should have priority over the other shops. Traffic lights probably would help the traffic chaos there. Why cant a road be put in for Tesco around the back to there carpark. This retail park was not very well thought out and Wellington council should take a lot of blame and sort it out.
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1 road in and 1 road out. Problem solved!
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Y Mab, for once, I agree with you. Mind you, I seem to remember that Tescos wanted an extra entrance to the car parking when they were extending their store but were refused planning permission.
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Its open 24hrs!
Surley people can find a convienient times to shop. I usually call in after a night in Shrewsbury. Shopping done in 10mins!
These people are queueing by choice, so let them.
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Lucy W – A lot of us have to go to work the next day or have young children so shopping at midnight to 2am is not a option.
Andy H. It seemes simplicty to have Tesco entrance and exit coming of main roundabout.
I sometimes wonder with these planners at T & W
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Y Mab: Well can’t one partner look after the kids while the other shops? And what about ordering on-line? Like I say, people choose to queue because they have nothing better to do with their lives.
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Reduce the amount of traffic by adding a park and walk for McDonalds – preferably about 2 miles away. Solves a couple of issues.
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Why dont they build a massive car park the other side of the M54 and have a travellator for lazy people to stand on and be moved to Tescos, just like they do in Las Vegas to get fat Americans into the casino?
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Lucy W: your last message was a stereotype, not all americans are fat, some are anorexic (models), or just to dam lazy
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They are building a new car park at the Wrekin how about a park and ride from the Wrekin to Tesco’s just down the road. Or the planners could always knock down the Ercall afte all no one walks up the Ercall and make it into a overflow car park
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One road in from the roundabout and one way out at the bottom. Problem sorted. By the way do away with the silly ‘doughnut’ roundabout and make all traffic go through the lights at Ketley.
Mr Why
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i shall be glad when every tesco in the country is closed down, no matter where they are, no matter what they do, they are big trouble, thank goodness for more reasons to shop at morrisons
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Charge for parking,that will soon reduce the numbers.
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devon salopian: just because Devon only has Morrisons and rubbish expensive places like that, we like our cheapo stores.
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The feeder lane will be pointless, as it wont help with people trying to get out of Tesco… I was stuck trying to get out of the Tesco car park for over an hour last weekend!!
As I see it, the best solution would be an extra exit from the M54 island, so people can get directly in and out of the Tesco car park without having to go though the rest of the retail park…
Though this wont happen as it will cost more to raise a road from the carpark to the island than it would to put an extra lane in… It would cause a lot of disruption on the M54 island during the work… and the thing Tesco would dislike most, they would have to sacrifice parking spaces to do this!
My solution… go to Asda!
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