Doncaster deputy mayor responds over four sets of roadworks in one mile
The deputy mayor of Doncaster has responded to an angry driver who encountered four sets of roadworks on a one mile journey in the city.
Frustrated technician Richard Harrison 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.
He says the four separate sets of works in the Barnby Dun Road area doubled his journey time from 20 minutes to 40 minutes.
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.
“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.
“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?”
“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.
He also complained about Yorkshire Water tankers in the Hungerhill Lane area.
In response, deputy mayor Coun Glyn Jones told him: “As the highway authority, we have a legal obligation to co-ordinate works on the highway. These duties must be balanced against:
“The legal rights of statutory undertakers and private road owners to carry out street works, the need to maintain and improve our road network in line with current transport demands, development of new housing and industrial estates and emergency works that arise unexpectedly.
“To manage this, our Network Management team holds quarterly meetings with statutory undertakers and in-house teams to review proposed works and encourage collaboration wherever possible.
"This helps reduce disruption, but it is not always feasible or safe for works to be carried out successively. Where practical, we do co-ordinate works in this way.
“We make every effort to schedule works to minimise disruption and keep alternative routes clear. Particular attention is given to key routes to support the travelling public and businesses.
“Regarding the recurring impact of the Yorkshire Water (YW) tankering operations, we are actively engaged with YW to explore alternative methods to reduce disruption.
"During these operations, our teams conduct regular inspections to ensure site safety and maintain traffic flow. While legislation does not allow us to prevent these activities entirely, we remain committed to working with YW to minimise their impact.”