Angry driver blasts four sets of roadworks in one mile in Doncaster

Frustrated technician Richard Harrison has penned an open letter to Mayor Ros Jones, Doncaster Labour MP Sally Jameson as well as his local councillors to express his frustration, calling for the works to be staggered, rather than all taking place at once.

Mr Harrison, who lives in Kirk Sandall, wrote: “Please can something be looked at in terms of the amount of roadworks on the roads around Doncaster?

“My journey to work has been severely impaired frequently - normally this would take 20 minutes but has now become 40 minutes for a distance of seven miles.

“The other day I counted four sets of roadworks within a mile around the Clay Lane, Wheatley Hills and Edenthorpe areas.

“There were traffic lights on Doncaster Road - these were in place every day for at least a fortnight.

“There were traffic lights on Barnby Dun Road, Clay Lane - I think this was for more work being done on the cycle lane and traffic light crossing. This was there for over three weeks.

“There was also a lane closure on the Sainsburys roundabout at Edenthorpe, again in place for at least two weeks, even though I was unable to see any actual roadworks taking place.

“And traffic lights at Wheatley Hills for repairing drain covers, in place for about two weeks.

“If you are not driving in this area you will not understand how much this impacts people during the day and pushes cars on to already congested side roads.

"We have had numerous issues in the area with the construction of the new bridge near Sainsburys which took far longer than estimated, then as well the new bridge construction over the railway in Barnby Dun being two of the big ones.

“Surely these works are scheduled and must have permission from the council or the highways agency? Can they not ensure that if there is more than one or two roadworks in place that anymore would have to wait?”

He also raised the issue of water tankers regularly blocking the road near to Hungerhill Lane.

“The Yorkshire Water works seems to spring up regularly now,” added Mr Harrison. “They put a tanker on the main road when there is a side road they could easily use.

"If this is to become a regular occurrence, they could put in a side road on the opposite side of the building to accommodate a tanker.

“The total disregard for road users seems to have infected the people making these decisions. We the motorists feel we are now bottom of the rung for everything.

“If I could get to work by walking or cycling I would, but I am also a technician that must travel around Doncaster during the day.

“Walking, cycling or public transport is not an option for most people.”

We have contacted City of Doncaster Council for a response.