GCP was warned in safety audit about risk of ‘head-on collisions’ at new junction in Milton Road, Cambridge
An increased risk of head-on collisions following changes to a Milton Road junction was highlighted by safety experts but not accepted by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, the Cambridge Independent can reveal.
The GCP was told that users heading north on Milton Road were at an increased risk of colliding head-on with southbound vehicles waiting to turn right into King’s Hedges Road.
The report highlighted that this was due to the right hand turning lane being located on the western side of the traffic island.
However, this was dismissed by the GCP who said the “unusual arrangement” for the signals “will not increase risk of conflict” and the junction was built as designed.
Prior to the works, there were three lanes coming from Milton at the junction with King’s Hedges Road, with a traffic island to the right of them. Following the completion of the city’s second CYCLOPS junction, the right-hand turn is now separated from the other two lanes by a traffic island.
This has led to some motorists taking to social media over the junction which they consider the “most dangerous” among those on the redeveloped road. Motorists have complained about unusual positioning of the traffic island and the short notice lane changes.
“This is so wrong, I’m not comfortable with this. There’s a moment in time before there is an accident,” said one driver.
Another added: “I absolutely hate that road now! I’ve made a mistake with the roadworks outside the Milton Arms and didn’t have a clue what part of the road I was meant to be on or the bus lane! They’ve made the road horrendous, I’m very glad I don’t live over that way anymore so I don’t have to navigate it every day.”
Others say waiting to turn right “feels like you are going to get hit by a car”.
The audit, which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act via the site whatdotheyknow.com, examined the road safety implications of the scheme.
It stated: “Increased risk of road users heading north colliding head-on with southbound vehicles waiting to turn right into King’s Hedges Road due to the right turn lane being located on the western side of the central traffic island.
“Northbound road users on Milton Road, particularly those who have turned right from Green End Road or left from King’s Hedges Road, having passed on the correct side of the central traffic island, could misinterpret the northbound exit as having two lanes and collide head-on with vehicles using the right turn lane.”
The audit recommended that the central traffic island should be relocated so that all three southbound lanes pass to the nearside of the island as it currently did.
However, the GCP did not accept that this was a problem and therefore did not accept the recommendation.
The GCP’s decision-making executive board was then told in March 2022 that the project’s design team had “addressed issues raised” by the safety audit.
Rosalind Lund, of Arbury Road, told the Cambridge Independent that it was too soon to make a judgement as to whether the new junction is improving safety or not.
“However, I have noticed a lot of traffic is avoiding the junction either by going straight across Milton Road from Arbury Road to Union Lane, or by the rat run through Leys Road and Hurst Park Avenue. Arbury Road seems to be getting a lot more traffic and on occasion in the morning rush hour it backs up to North Cambridge Academy,” she said.
“The pedestrian crossings at the cyclops are working as they should but sometimes involve a long wait. Possibly as a result of this some cyclists are moving from the cycle path to the road – and this is dangerous. Some cyclists haven’t yet realised how they are supposed to get round it.”
A GCP spokesperson said: “Across the country, the cyclops design is changing the way roads are being built as traditionally junctions are seen as an intimidating place for people not travelling in a car, with this design improving the experience for people travelling on foot and bike.
“The right turn lane to the right of the island is positioned to reduce the distance of the pedestrian and cycle crossing to make it safer and easier for people to travel. Detailed modelling also showed HGVs require a significant amount of space when turning left from King’s Hedges Road which could have clashed with the traffic island had we progressed with the audit’s recommendation.
“We adapted the design following the safety audit to position the stop line further back to provide more space for motorists passing waiting vehicles and we have also included hatches in front of the island to improve visual guidance for motorists turning right out of Green End Road. Safety is of the utmost importance in the delivery of all our schemes. We continue to monitor the junction and this will be subject to a further road safety audit in line with usual practice.”