St James Lane bridge traffic lights campaign thrown out "because it would cause congestion"
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2026 9:33 pm
The council says new signals would create vehicle queues, have no effect on road safety and cost too much
A campaign for traffic lights at a Coventry bridge has been rejected. Coventry City Council said such a development would cause congestion, have no measurable impact on road safety, and the installation and ongoing maintenance of new traffic signals would cost too much.
A petition signed by 146 people called for filtered traffic lights at the St James Lane bridge in Willenhall "to prevent collisions and accidents happening due to limited visibility when approaching and driving across the bridge."
The petition states: "The bridge has a blind spot making it difficult for drivers to see vehicles approaching from the opposite side and so are forced to proceed with limited visibility, increasing the risk of collisions.
"Due to the blind spot, I and many motorists have witnessed situations where approaching buses or large vehicles could not be seen on time. This has forced drivers to reverse on the bridge to avoid collisions, creating a significant safety risk, particularly during busy periods when there is little or no space to manoeuvre.
"We want the council to install filtered traffic lights at the bridge to prevent collisions and accidents happening.
"Having filtered traffic lights would allow traffic to cross the bridge in one direction at a time, removing the need for drivers to judge whether it is clear, reducing the risk of head-on collisions, and preventing vehicles from having to reverse, thereby improving overall safety and traffic flow."
A meeting of the council's Cabinet Member for City Services heard that officers had denied the request.
David Keaney, the council's strategic lead for network management, told the meeting: "We have previously undertaken some significant trials in this location, having had similar requests in the past, and those trials have demonstrated that unfortunately the bridge operates in a less effective way with traffic signals and a consultation undertaken at that time suggested that there was general opposition to that.
"Therefore, it is not something we are proposing to bring forward at this time.
"I do think it is worth highlighting though that, following recent engagement with ward councillors, we have identified an opportunity to amend a kerb line on one approach. That will help with some of the movement of vehicles on the sharp bend as they approach that bridge."
A report detailing the response to the petition explained that portable traffic signals had been installed on a temporary basis to try out the idea and surveys were undertaken to assess their impact on vehicle flow and congestion at the bridge.
The results showed that signals led to "a significant increase in queue lengths throughout the day when compared with the existing arrangement."
In addition, a consultation found that 60 per cent of people locally opposed the introduction of permanent traffic signals, citing concerns over increased congestion and delays.
The council added accident logs showed that only one personal injury collision had been recorded at the location within the last three years, and that was associated with a police pursuit rather than normal traffic use of the bridge.
The report said: "Taken together, the evidence indicates that the installation of traffic signals would be unlikely to deliver a measurable safety benefit whilst having a detrimental impact on traffic conditions.
"It was also noted that the installation of a new signal controlled junction would require a capital investment of approximately £150,000, together with ongoing maintenance, inspection and electricity costs throughout its operational life.
"On the basis of this evidence, whilst the request for the installation of traffic signals at the bridge is noted, it is not something that the council intends to progress.
"Opportunities to amend the existing kerb line on the approach to the bridge from the London Road side of the structure are currently being explored, and subject to approval being subsequently obtained from National Rail, the owners of bridge structure, will be progressed in the future.
"This amendment is intended to aid vehicles navigating the bend on the approach to the bridge by increasing carriageway width and reduce the likelihood of footway overrunning."
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-traffic-lights-campaign-thrown-34706448
