New system will stop road signal misery

A £250,000 system to control traffic signals across Telford and Wrekin will be brought in within a year.

Council bosses hope the changes will make traffic flow across the borough smoother.

The Ketley Brook roundabout and Trench Lock Interchanges are two of the areas highway chiefs are looking at.

Their plan would see a new urban traffic management and control system brought in by April next year.

It would link all signals across the borough to a central nerve centre. Computers would automatically adjust the lights' timing to keep traffic flowing.Telford & Wrekin Councillor Sean Kelly said improvements had already been made at Ketley Brook Roundabout with signal timings and an extra lane added.

He said, from his point of view, if they were starting from scratch he would not want traffic lights but they were having to "make the best out of a bad situation".

Mr Kelly said complaints about the roundabout and congestion after the traffic lights were first installed had stopped since the initial changes were made.

But he said: "That is not to say the problems have stopped. I am fully aware those traffic lights are not working to the best of their abilities."

Mr Kelly, who is assistant cabinet member for environment and regeneration, which includes highways and maintenance, said: "The most important point is to reassure people that traffic is still a priority for us."