A frustrated Darlington resident has hit out at at a road closure caused by council roadworks which he claims has caused havoc with motorists having no access to the centre of town.
Keith Brown is a resident of Staindrop Road in Darlington, which has this week seen a portion of it closed for council works on potholes.
The road acts as a main access point to the centre of town. It joins on to Woodland Road but has been impassable to all motorists including those from out of town, who Mr Brown thinks would not have been aware of any closures.
Check out our interactive map on the closure here...
Mr Brown said: “The closure was advertised all last week, and the sign asked us to ring a number if we wanted more information. It turned out to be a council number, and they didn’t know a thing about it.
“Eventually, they found out and told me that it would be closed but they didn’t know any details about how the closure would affect people.”
According to Mr Brown, the closure has caused havoc with motorists who access the town centre from the west who are not being made aware of the closure until they arrive at the road closed barricade.
He added: “This is the biggest problem – when you come into Darlington from the west, there is no indication that the road is closed until you get to The Mowden pub.
“People are having to come in and turn all the way back around. If people do not know the area, they don’t know what to do – there’s no indication of what they should do.
“That road closed sign should be before the end of the 40mph limit zone before motorists enter Darlington.
“It is a bit of a poor show really.”
Mr Brown then went on to explain that he believes a diversion should be placed on Edgecombe Drive in to the Mowden Estate which would allow motorists to access Carmel Road North.
Darlington Borough Council said it tries its best to make drivers aware of road closures.
A spokesperson said: “We recognise that road closures are inconvenient to drivers - however, these are essential to ensure our roads remain safe and operational.
“Planned maintenance works to repair road surfaces on Staindrop Road began on Monday (October 30) and are due to be completed today (Wednesday 1 November).
“We try our best to let people know about works which may disrupt their journeys and advance warning signs were in place for 12 days prior to works starting to alert drivers to the planned closure.
“Diversion signs were, and are, in place and affected residents were informed via letter.
“Further works to add road markings are planned for next week, depending on weather conditions, and temporary traffic lights will be in place.
“An interactive map with information about planned road maintenance is available at www.streetworks.darlington.gov.uk.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel