RESIDENTS have warned that the BREP changes to the Oakalls have ‘introduced new dangers’ for drivers.
Bradley Thomas MP met with county councillor Sam Evans and a small group of residents to discuss their concerns with the changes made to Regents Park Road as a result of Worcestershire County Council’s A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme (BREP).
As part of BREP, changes have been made to traffic flow at the entrance to the estate from Slideslow Island into Regents Park Road with the creation of a new priority give way area.
There are now severe delays accessing and exiting the Oakalls at all times of day, not just during peak periods, with residents reporting wait times of up to 20 minutes to reach Slideslow Island from the Finstall direction.
Oakalls resident, Dean Brady, said: “Since works began, BREP has caused major disruption and introduced new dangers for residents across Bromsgrove.
“My most immediate concern, shared by many Oakalls residents, is the alteration to traffic flow at the entrance to the estate from Slideslow Island into Regents Park Road.
“In the 25 years I have lived here, there has never been a serious incident on that stretch of road, despite it long being used as a cut-through for Redditch traffic avoiding peak-time congestion at the island.
“While queues at peak times were inevitable, they were short-lived and dissipated quickly.
“Since the introduction of the so-called 'improved' layout, the situation has deteriorated dramatically.
“The disruption has also had a tangible economic impact. Several small business owners operating from the Oakalls estate have reported a clear and measurable effect on their livelihoods as a direct result of these changes.
“As an experienced engineer with a background in delivering projects at National Infrastructure scale, I fully accept that disruption is sometimes unavoidable when interventions are genuinely justified.
“However, I struggle to see any justification for the scale, cost or extravagance of this project - both in its entirety and specifically in relation to the Oakalls section.”
Bradley said: “Ever since I was first elected, I’ve been holding Worcestershire County Council to account over their A38 BREP project.
“The changes made to Regents Park Road haven’t made things better, they’ve made congestion and journey times far worse.
“The county council says it's listening to residents’ concerns.
"If they are then they would immediately reverse the changes they’ve made to Regents Park Road.
“Following my meeting with residents, my next step is to get the County Council’s Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport down to the Oakalls so he can see for himself the impact of the changes.
“As I’ve said before, if this project doesn’t lead to tangible improvements in keeping Bromsgrove moving and in reducing the congestion after all the money that has been spent and after all the frustration it has caused, then we will all be asking the same question: what was the point?”
Sam Evans, county councillor for Bromsgrove East, said: “The works to Regents Park Road are unwanted and unnecessary.
"Despite warnings on mass from residents and myself as local Councillor, Worcestershire County Council still went ahead with these works which have caused problems rather than solve them.
“Alongside the loss of trees and the parking bay, Regents Park Road is now less safe with new priority ‘give way’ area which has visibility issues and has caused multiple incidents already of drivers meeting head on and struggling to navigate their way out of the new narrow area.
“The county council need to listen to local residents and work with us to address these issues.”
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