Readers vote for their preferred option for the Toll Bar junction
ONLY 10% WANT ROUNDABOUT REPLACED BY LIGHTS
THE vast majority of North East Lincolnshire residents do not want to see the replacement of Toll Bar roundabout with traffic lights. North East Lincolnshire Council Cabinet members are set to approve highly controversial plans to replace the Toll Bar roundabout with traffic lights on Monday, despite widespread opposition from local residents, ward councillors, the MP for Cleethorpes and Tollbar Academy.
Grimsby Live polled its readers to ask them what junction that they would like to see at the roundabout, with 90 per cent responding that they would like to see the roundabout maintained and only 10 per cent saying that they would be in favour of traffic lights. Readers were given the option of installing traffic lights, keeping the roundabout as it is, keeping the roundabout but adding an underpass and keeping the roundabout and adding an overpass.
Some 1,167 people responded to the poll, with the most popular option being to keep the roundabout as it is, with 47 per cent or 553 people voting in favour of this.
The second most popular option was keeping the roundabout but adding an overpass, which was voted for by 30 per cent of respondents or 347 people.
Some 13 per cent or 150 people voted in favour of keeping the roundabout and installing an underpass. The least popular option was the installation of traffic lights, with only 10 per cent or 117 people voting in favour of the council’s plans. The council has stated that its primary reason for wanting to replace the roundabout with traffic lights is because it wants to create a safer environment for the more than 2,000 students at the nearby Toll Bar Academy, many of whom cross the Toll Bar roundabout junction twice a day coming to and from school. It has said that it has looked at a number of other options, including the installation of an overpass and underpass at the junction, but have said that these are not financially viable and would require the compulsory purchase of land, and increasing the size of the current roundabout.
It has also said that if an underpass or overpass were installed at the roundabout, then the other branches of the junction would have to have signalised pedestrian crossings installed.
New Waltham and Waltham residents have campaigned for over a year, calling on the council to abandon their plans and “leave Toll Bar roundabout alone”.
In September a petition containing more than 7,600 signatures was handed in to North East Lincolnshire Council, calling on them to stop their plans.
The petitioners had hoped that this would be debated in Full Council, but it is due to be accepted by the cabinet on Monday, where lead campaigner Roger Breed will have the opportunity to make a five-minute speech to put forward his views. The Conservative Party have called on the final decision on the roundabout to be delayed, so that the petition can be debated by a special meeting of the Full Council, in accordance with the council’s own petition policy.
However, the decision is set to be made on Monday, October 29, at a special Cabinet meeting, to be held at Grimsby Town Hall at 2pm.
■ Also see Viewpoint – pages 16 & 17.