As many motorists will have noticed some of the lights on the Wilmslow and Handforth bypass have been out of action for a while.
Readers have contacted us to complain about the lack of lights on all A34 roundabouts from Handforth Dean Retail Park to Wilmslow High School which Michelle Gray said was "making driving conditions very tricky and hazardous".
She also explained she had difficulty walking across the bridge, which goes over the bypass adjacent to the High School as the lights were out. Michelle said "We would have been safer on the ground trying to cross the road at ground level, it was that dangerous.
"This is a bridge that High School pupils use after school clubs and is not fit for purpose under these circumstances. There is an urgent need to switch on all lighting on roundabouts now before there are accidents to both motorists and pedestrians."
Councillor Martin Watkins said "These lights have been out since at least when the clocks went back. As Chairman of Wilmslow Town Council I have been at pains to ask Cheshire East why this situation has been allowed to occur.
"I have been told "there is a fault" and that someone would call back WTC with an update. No such response has been forthcoming which has caused me to again ask the question. I should not need to do that."
Councillor Rod Menlove has confirmed that all the lights will remain, unlike on Altrincham Road where some street lights have been removed, and will be relit. The loss of service is due to faults with the underground cable that need to be rectified.
I contacted Cheshire East Council for an update on the situation.
A spokesman for Cheshire East Council said: "The council's highways team have been experiencing some difficulties relating to underground cable faults and the loss of electrical service.
"The section of the A34, connecting Wilmslow High School and Handforth Dean, is the main area that has been affected.
"We will be making repairs over the next two weeks. Some of those repairs will be done immediately but others may take longer to complete, due to location and accessibility."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
After we checked everyone in the car was fine, looked up, there 10 ft in front of us (so in the middle of the roundabout) was another car that had done the same thing 10 mins before.
The Police didnt want to acknowledge that the lack of lighting lead to both accidents and put it down to poor driving, even though whilst he was explaining this about 5 other cars could be heard/seen screeching to a halt when they came up to the same area (albeit probably forewarned of the issue via the Police lights...).
Put some temporary lights up for gods sake, you know like the ones that you use for all the extension works? Probably avoid a lot of heartache....
How many times so CEC need to be told about something as obviously dangerous as this?
Christian, with respect, to get to the roundabout you would have had to pass several road signs altering you that it was coming over the space of a few hundred yards. If you haven't noticed them, or the chevrons on the roundabout (which would reflect strongly in your headlights), or the markings on the road indicating the directions of the lanes at the roundabout, or the roundabout itself, I doubt that the absence of street lights was the deciding factor.
Anne, if the story you mention is the one I'm thinking of, she crashed her car into the central, telling others she'd fallen asleep at the wheel. Very dangerously, she then decided to return to her car from the safety of verges by the hard shoulder to where it was stopped between lanes 1 and 2, probably to switch on her hazard lights the inquest concluded, and walked into the motorway, misjudged traffic and was hit.
http://bit.ly/28LVL88
Are CEC actually responsible for the supply to street lighting, or is it Electricity Northwest?
I contacted Cheshire East Council for an update on the situation.
"We will be making repairs over the next two weeks. Some of those repairs will be done immediately but others may take longer to complete, due to location and accessibility."
6th January.
All of the lights except two are still out at the A34 Dean Row Road roundabout.
All of the lights are still out at the A34Bollin Link (Atlantic Ford) roundabout.
All of the lights are still out at the A34 High School Roundabout and for the half-mile beyond towards Alderley.
http://bit.ly/28LVL88 What a good deal that turned out to be, I bet other Councils are Lyme Green with envy!
I wonder if Cllr Watkins ever did get a response from CEC?
I wonder if Cllr Menlove still thinks that he got us a good deal?
Mark says "As a motorist who has used the A34 for nearly 20 years i have not driven into a roundabout or street furniture, because "the lights are off". Congratulations Mark.
So you're using your 20 years of driving down the same road as a benchmark for road users who may have only been down that stretch of road once or twice (as was in my case)? Hardly a fair comparison, 20 years of experience in anything will always trump less than a day...
Quoting my own post: "...there 10 ft in front of us (so in the middle of the roundabout) was another car that had done the same thing 10 mins before." - Possibly another person unfamiliar with the road layout/not expecting a full size roundabout at the end of an unlit section of high speed road?
"...even though whilst he was explaining this about 5 other cars could be heard/seen screeching to a halt when they came up to the same area (albeit probably forewarned of the issue via the Police lights...)" - more people possibly unfamiliar with the road layout/not expecting a full size roundabout at the end of an unlit section of high speed road?
How could this happen guys? If Jon and Mark can do it then so can everyone else, come on everyone, let Jon and Mark light the way (pun intended).
Rob, I suggest you consult Jon and Mark over Worms Hill as they may have some condescending advice for you and others, maybe even for the person who collided with the column?
In fact, according to Jon's logic we don't really need lights on any roads so why do we bother at all? Just a lot of suitably placed reflective road signs will be sufficient, because remember, it's not about peripheral vision, it's all about what you can see directly in front of you...