Traffic lights could be switched off at night in Telford

Keith Harris, manager of transport and highways for Telford & Wrekin Council, said "part-time operation" – where traffic lights are not switched on all of the time – was something the council was looking at.

Speaking at a public meeting attended by nearly 100 people at Thomas Telford School last night, he said only four of the town's 120 roundabouts – Hollinswood, Trench Lock, Ketley Brook and Malinslee – had traffic lights on them.

A speaker at the meeting, Bill Gilmour, says there are too many traffic lights in the town now and all they are doing is holding people up.

He said research he had carried out indicated putting lights on roundabouts added up to five minutes on to every journey at all times of the day.

Mr Gilmour said when he moved to Telford in the early 1970s there was just one set of traffic lights, in Wellington.

"But over the last 18 months traffic lights appear to be popping up everywhere, including roundabouts," he said.

"I handed out leaflets to 300 people and businesses to publicise this meeting and ask them their views. It has become clear that everyone I have spoken to in person has a negative view on the lights. It took me seven minutes the other night to get from the M54 junction 6 roundabout to the Morrisons car park at Lawley. A mile journey.

"It would only have taken me 15 minutes to walk.

"There has got to be a better way than what we have at the moment.

"I am just sick and tired of coming off the motorway late at night to find not another car in sight, and still have to negotiate two sets of traffic lights."

Mr Harris said traffic had grown by nearly 10 per cent over the last decade and the authority had to look at the best ways of keeping it flowing as smoothly as possible.

He said: "I am quite happy to explore the possibility of part-time operation at night.

"You do need to be careful – there are examples in other areas where people have tried it and very quickly had to turn them back on because it led to an increase in accidents and increased confusion. But I am more than prepared to consider whether it may be appropriate here."

Mr Harris said he could not rule out introducing more traffic lights into the town, but insisted it would only be done as a last resort where it was deemed normal roundabouts could not cope with traffic levels.