Campaigners' fury as 'toxic' Leamington roadworks rumble onCampaigners are demanding action on the "toxic" roadworks in Leamington they claim are "damaging the quality of people’s lives".
A clockwise one-way system, from and back round to Princes Drive, has been in operation since the first week of January and will remain so until the end of March.
The mile-long diversion is in place while restoration work on the rail bridge over Princes Drive is carried out and while a number of roadworks in the area, the vast majority instructed by Warwickshire County Council, are completed.
The traffic management scheme is said by campaigners to be causing "chaos" with long queues and delays a common occurrence during and out of rush hour.
Protesters claim the "agony" of the roadworks are causing "misery and harm" and say they have contributed to a huge increase in noise and traffic pollution as vehicles sit in long queues of often static traffic.
They have called on Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western to lobby WCC for a change to the works that would dispose of the diversion at weekends when, they say, construction work is paused.
"The toxic roadworks stop at 3pm on a Friday and do not start again till Monday morning," campaigners say in the letter.
"Please will you lobby the Council to lift the toxic roadworks traffic diversion from Friday pm to Monday am to provide a little relief to the suffering residents of Leamington Spa."
The council said removal of the diversion at weekends was simply not feasible given the nature of the works involved.
It said the diversion was necessary because of the lane closure on Princes Drive, which is considered a trunk road.
And while the council has a number of roadworks planned in the area, it said it would not start the bigger undertakings until the Network Rail-led diversion has finished.
Campaigners claim the project has "negatively encroached" on residents from "extra pollution" to the alleged knock on effect of slower traffic in the area.
"One way or another these toxic roadworks are damaging the quality of people’s lives," they claimed.
"Please do something to reduce the harm and misery these toxic roadworks are causing.
"Please Mr Western, do something, even if it is only a phone call or an email, to ease the pain these toxic roadworks are inflicting on people who are doing nothing wrong except trying to get to work or get their children to school."
Campaigners claim eye witnesses have told them that emergency vehicles have struggled to get through "the tightly packed traffic" and that "people are not shopping in Leamington Spa anymore".
Mr Western said he felt "frustrated" by the diversion "like so many residents".
"What residents don’t understand - as I don’t - is why this has been left to the 11th hour!" he said.
"We’ve had two years of the pandemic with quieter roads yet the Conservative-led Warwickshire County Council has left it to the last minute to do these works, ahead of the Commonwealth Games - leaving the public - and vehicles - fuming.
"I wrote to the county council asking if alternatives had been considered to reduce the massive inconvenience the roadworks have caused – and whether the scale of disruption was anticipated.
"Fears about pollution, blockages for emergency service vehicles and traffic that, at times, has paralysed our town centre are understandable and well founded."