News

Crisis meeting to be held over roadworks problems

By Nick Edmondson
October 09, 2012

A SPECIAL meeting has been called between South East Water and Rushmoor and Hampshire councils to address the traffic chaos caused by water main works in Aldershot.

The works to replace an 80-year-old water main on Ash Road have caused pandemonium as the surrounding residential streets are clogged with traffic as lorries and HGVs ignore diversions.

Homeowners on Church Lane East, Church Hill and Christmas Avenue have warned that the number of drivers using their roads as a rat run are causing an accident waiting to happen, with frequent near misses as children come home from school.

Water main roadworks causing misery
Diversion will create 'real problems'

Hampshire County Council and Rushmoor Borough Council will meet with representatives for South East Water on Thursday (October 11) in hope of finding a way to speed up the works, which are expected to last at least six months.

Rushmoor councillor Alex Crawford said: "At this stage I believe the councils must work with South East water to minimise disruption by speeding up the work by employing as many workmen on site as practicable, ensuring clear signposting for different sorts of vehicle and opening up Ash Road as far as possible when work is not in progress."

South East Water has admitted that only four men are at work on the site at any one time, but claims any more workers would be counterproductive by overcrowding the site.

Claire Knox, of Church Road, said: "The diversion is causing chaos along here. We have 40-foot lorries and three extra bus routes changing along a road that's just not designed to cope with this much extra traffic. "At school dropping off and picking up times it is a nightmare. The poor lollypop man takes his life into his own hands trying to cross the children over the road outside St Michael's school. The traffic is at a complete standstill."

Councillor Mel Kendal, deputy leader and executive member for environment and transport at Hampshire County Council, said: "These are statutory works by the utility company and whilst we work closely with them when programming works to minimise the disruption to traffic as far as possible they have the right to access their services in the highway.

"Our highways engineers have assisted South East Water in reviewing signage and they have arranged for additional diversion signs to be prominently displayed at various intervals ahead of the works area.

"They have also put out extra signs advising that businesses are open as usual while the work is taking place.

"Highways officers have been monitoring the traffic and found that, in the main, most traffic is adhering to the specified diversion route, however they have noted that there are motorists who are using their local knowledge to find other routers. without closing these residential roads, there is little action we can take to prevent this.

"Ahead of South East Water starting their works. we were able to liase with British Telecom and arrange for their work to install new cabling to be undertaken a the same time as this mains replacement work, thus avoiding further disruption at a later date."

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Most recent user comments 9 of 9

Has anyone heard any feed back from the crisis meeting last week? Any chance memebrs of the public and residents will be told what's going on!!!???

noone Knows
23/10/2012 at 13:06

A comment asks "just how many routes into Aldershot do they want to dig up at the same time"?

Add to that the extensive lampost replacment programme now in full swing along several of the recommended diversion routes.

Understandably this sometimes blocks pavements and thus roads are made narrower in many places by pedestrian barriers - often for several days given the number of different skills involved in the replacement programme.

Did RBC / HCC / SEW take this into account at, or before, last Thursdays "crunch" meeting?

Can utilities not co-ordinate themselves?

Retired of Aldershot, Aldershot
16/10/2012 at 15:28

Police were alerted last night when inconsiderate drivers removed the road closure signs and cones in the area of Elston road and Crossways, mounted the pavement to proceed. The signs were reinstated , but this morning they again have been vandalised, a taxi has just passed me on the pavement without a care in the world. A major incident will occur shortly.

Malcolm Harding, Aldershot
14/10/2012 at 09:46

Just how many routes into Aldershot do they want to dig up at the same time ? Ash Road, Ordanance Road and Hospital Hill ! All at the same time, makes you wonder if there are not underlying reasons ! Come on RBC lets have some comments Outermongolian

I don't think you will get the council or councilliors answering your question - its a shame because i think their is a lot of residents in Aldershot that would like to know the answer or excuse?.

PJA
12/10/2012 at 22:58

Outermongolian
11/10/2012 at 15:21

It's complete rubbish to say that most traffic is adhering to the specifed diversion routes. HGV's are NOT supposed to be going down Church Road but they continue to do so. It's only fair that locals use alternative routes so that they can avoid the chaos. Why shoud all the traffic have to come along one route that's not fair on people who live in Church Hill, Church Lane East and Church Road.

noone Knows
10/10/2012 at 09:26

It's fair to say "Retired of Aldershot", there was absolutely no consultation with the residents of Church Road to say the least.

A reasonable solution would be to have temporary traffic lights on our road in order stop the chaos caused when two drivers attempt to negotiate an obviously single carriageway due to parked cars.

Every morning I find myself checking over the side of my car to see how many indentations caused by the inconsiderate and discourteous drivers have appeared.

Duckie
09/10/2012 at 16:21

I live on Church Road, rush hour used to be a problem - now it is a nightmare. I have no off road parking so it's quite exciting at times to see how many drivers I can upset while reverse parking my car into a space outside my house!

Duckie
09/10/2012 at 16:17

I can only reiterate parts of my comment on the article of a week or so ago.

SEW have failed to convince road users and residents why using any more than 4 workers at a time is counterproductive.

Please explain why work cannot be undertaken at both ends or from the middle outwards such that the gangs would not interfere with each other and work expedited.

Whilst Mel is right in saying that the utility has rights to access their pipes etc., they also have a responsibility to the community and to Aldershot's economy.

That responsibility and customer focus is conspicious by its absence but entirely conistent with the jobsworths SEW comes first and do not actually care about the customer attitudes at SEW.

I just wonder what genuine consultation there was with residents and businesses (as distinct from other remote bodies such as RBC and HCC) - other than probably send them a fait accompli letter.

Other countries, such as saw last month in Canada, have an infinitely better track record on owning and discharging their responsibliities - why not UK?