Council leader makes defence for new A4174 through-about after boy dies in tragic crash

A council leader has defended a controversial new through-about on the Avon Ring Road following the death of a teenager in a collision.

The accident on Easter Day at the A4174 junction with Wraxall Road in Warmley left a 16-year-old moped rider, named locally as Daniel, dead and a 27-year-old car driver arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

South Gloucestershire Council leader Cllr Toby Savage has urged people not to jump to conclusions and insists through-abouts are safe and work well in other parts of the country.

But the £6.9million changes to the roundabout, also known as Woodstock, were criticised as “dangerous” and a “huge waste of money” when it reopened in October.

And just days later the local authority pulled a bigger, £30million project of upgrades for five other roundabouts on the ring road, including converting three of them into through-abouts, in the wake of overwhelming opposition.

A whopping 84 per cent of respondents to public consultation disapproved of the proposed works on a five-mile stretch between Lyde Green and Kingsfield roundabouts, aimed at reducing congestion and rat-running.

More traffic lights, entry lanes and road widening were planned but the lack of dedicated bus lanes prompoted opposition from West of England Labour metro mayor Dan Norris and Green politicians.

So the Conservative-run council postponed a decision for 12 months and said it wanted more time to evaluate the new Wraxall Road roundabout layout and for people to become familiar with it.

Asked by a BBC Radio Bristol listener on the John Darvall show whether he still thought through-abouts, also known as hamburger roundabouts, were a good idea and what action would be taken to make them safer, Cllr Savage said the fatal accident was incredibly sad and tragic.

“My thoughts are with the family involved and what they’re having to come to terms with,” he said.

“It’s difficult for me to say a huge amount on this given there is a police investigation and there was an individual arrested for dangerous driving, so I can’t comment specifically on this particular incident and what may or may not have contributed to it.

“But more broadly on through-abouts, while this was the first not only in South Gloucestershire but also the wider region, they have been used in many other parts of the country and they work very well.

“The evidence we had to install it at Warmley was very strong. As part of the public consultation there was around 60 per cent of residents in support of it.

“They have proven to work in other parts of the country, so it’s not clear why they wouldn’t work here and I would be very cautious about anybody jumping to conclusions around this recent tragedy,” he told the show on Tuesday, April 18.

Through-abouts, also known as hamburger roundabouts, have lanes from the main carriageway ploughed through the middle of them for vehicles continuing straight ahead, and vehicles from side roads joining a traditional roundabout.