NEW £2M PLAN FOR FIVE LAMPS

Two £2m schemes to improve traffic congestion and cut down on bottlenecks at one of Derby's controversial junctions have been drawn up. The options have been put together to change the city's Five Lamps junction, and if one of them is backed by people in the area the scheme could get under way in 2006. Traffic lights at the junction, installed at a cost of £325,000 and switched on in December last year, have caused uproar among motorists who say that the tailbacks and traffic congestion have been made worse by the new signals. And now Derby City Council has said that it is hoping to make further changes to the junction as part of a scheme that has been tied in with the King Street link of the equally controversial Connecting Derby project.

Connecting Derby will complete the inner ring road and increase access for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. Two new options, expected to cost between £1.5m and £2m to put in place, have been drawn up to combat traffic problems. Councillors and officers say that the installation of the traffic lights at Five Lamps was only an "interim" measure and that, now the lights have been running for a few months, it is time to consider a longer-term solution to ease the traffic congestion and bottlenecks in the area.

There also appears to be confusion about how the new lights could fit into a new scheme, as council deputy leader Philip Hickson said that the lights could possibly be removed. However, Lucy Care, cabinet member for planning, transportation and environment said, "The options for further change being considered would not remove the lights". Councillor Hickson had said that the lights could be removed as part of the new scheme. He said, "There's still widespread public concern about the Five Lamps junction and congestion in King Street. These are two options going out to consultation to further improve the situation. My understanding always was that the signals were only a temporary solution pending further alterations to the junction. When we moved forward with this scheme, my belief was that that would be the end of the lights."

Again the "Five Lamps" is in the news. First it was traffic jams, then resetting of the lights and junction rearrangements, then a proposed new layout and now numerous accidents. When is the council going to hold up its hands and say: "We got it wrong". The one common sense solution to be offered by a member of the public has been totally rejected. That proposal is a one way system, out of town along Kedleston Road and into town along Duffield Road, with Broadway acting as a one-way link between the two. A bus lane could be added to Kedleston Road into town, encouraging commuters to take this faster route to town, and there would still be room for on-street parking for residents and students. The bus lane should/ought to reduce traffic along with eliminating the rush hour delays. So come on DCC own up - you got it wrong. R Taylor

Residents living near the Five Lamps road junction claim £325,000 of improvements have turned it into an accident blackspot. Councillor Lucy Care, cabinet member for planning, transportation and environment, said, "Before the lights were installed, I know of three accidents that involved pedestrians. I'm not aware of any pedestrians who were injured since the work was completed. One of the priorities for doing this was to make the route safer for pedestrians, as they're far more likely to be seriously injured than anyone travelling in a car." But she conceded, "These figures aren't good news. Our council continues to monitor accident sites and will pay particular attention to the Five Lamps junction."