Wiltshire Council is reopening Monkton Hill in Chippenham from Monday following monitoring of the junction of Station Hill and New Road, and feedback from residents.
Monkton Hill was originally closed to through traffic in 2020 to allow pedestrians and cyclists room to effectively socially distance. Since then, the council has installed traffic lights at the junction of Station Hill and New Road to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians to cross the junction at the bottom of Station Hill, and to improve traffic flows in the area, as part of the wider station improvement works.
However, as there is no longer a requirement to socially distance, and following monitoring of the junction, the council has decided to reopen Monkton Hill to traffic from Monday 20 September. The temporary access only restriction on St Marys Place will also be removed.
The council will continue to monitor Monkton Hill to ensure it remains a safe route for cyclists and pedestrians.
Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We’ve listened to feedback from residents and businesses about the new traffic lights at the junction of Station Hill and New Road, and as a result of this feedback plus our own monitoring, we have decided to reopen Monkton Hill to vehicles.
“This is one of many changes we have made as a result of feedback we have received about the junction, and it will help to reduce pressure and queuing times at the signal junction, particularly at peak times.
“Our engineers are continuing to monitor the traffic flows at the junction of Station Hill and New Road, and we’re adjusting the lights to ensure they are working as optimally as possible to achieve the desired result of keeping pedestrians and cyclists safe, while also ensuring traffic moves smoothly through the town. The reopening of Monkton Hill to motor vehicles will also help with this.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the new traffic lights in the Chippenham Western Arches area and we hope this this will go some way to resolving the issue.”
Michelle Donelan, MP, said: “I have been pushing for Monkton Hill to be reopened to cars for months, I am delighted by this action from the council. The situation with cars using St Mary’s Place was dangerous and this is a good first step forward in sorting the traffic issues around Station Hill and New Road.”
