Hectors Way motorists say new Newbury link road is dangerous

The opening of the new Kings Road link is causing havoc and rage among motorists.

The road – Hectors Way - has been described by West Berkshire Council as a “significant infrastructure achievement”.

But motorists have set social media alight and are less complimentary saying the signage isn’t right – and the road is dangerous.

“Boundary Road was always difficult,” wrote Ray Seaward on Facebook.

“But now it is dangerous. Traffic from Hectors Way has speeded up way before it gets here.”

Another post suggested the new mini roundabout on Kings Road is so big “it could act as a helicopter landing pad” and will only be a rat run for HGVs.

The new link is part of the Sterling Gardens development in Newbury and offers a two-way link between the A339 and Hambridge Road, providing an alternative route to Mill Lane and most of Kings Road.

Funded primarily by a grant from the Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and delivered in partnership with Nelson Land Ltd, the developer of the site, the council said this project “marks a major milestone”.

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’ if there is a bad accident,” said Newbury Greenham councillor Phil Barnett (Lib Dem).

“It worries me there is a lot of traffic and people are not looking left and right.

“It will be much worse when the schools are out.”

The new link road was approved by West Berkshire Council last summer, but there will be no red lights on the road to control traffic – as costs for traffic lights spiralled from £250,000 in the original plan, to more than £1m.

“I’d like to see the crossing at the London Apprentice turned in to traffic lights,” he added, saying the link road was only “soft launched” and that awareness of it was probably low as a result.

But Stuart Gourley (Lib Dem, Newbury Clay Hill), executive member for environment and highways at West Berkshire Council, disagreed with the enraged motorists.

“It not only eases traffic congestion but also supports local development and housing needs and is another step forward in our commitment to improving our local highways across West Berkshire,” he said.

“We are proud of the collaboration and hard work that went into this project and extend our gratitude to residents for their patience during the construction period, which involved overcoming several engineering challenges.

“We look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have in Newbury.”

The plans to remove traffic lights on Boundary Road in Newbury have been previously labelled as ‘lunacy’ by a resident who claims it is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

But the nod for the road connecting Hectors Way to Kings Road through the new Sterling Gardens development had some conditions attached – including more zebra crossings, with one across to Sainsbury’s.

Scott Jones lives on Boundary Road and said last year that people drive at speed down the road already.

“They are going to permanently remove the traffic lights and say there is a 20mph speed limit,” he added. “But that doesn’t exist. There are no signs on the lampposts or on the road surface about this.

“So if there is a 20mph zone, no one knows about it.”

The link road is part of the new 167-apartment Sterling Gardens housing development.

A new mini roundabout has been created at the entrance to the site in Kings Road with the stretch of road between the roundabout and the junction of Boundary Road turned into a two-way street.

The council said the existing one-way section of Kings Road is no longer the primary westbound route and drivers should now use the new link road.

It added that the timings of the traffic lights at the old Kings Road/Hectors Way junction have been changed to reflect this, so there is less green time for traffic on the one-way section.

The council said the quickest way towards Newbury now will be via the new link road and motorists using the one-way section will likely experience delays.

In addition, eastbound traffic should also use the new Hectors Way (blue line on the map) and not Mill Lane, which takes them past the police station.

What do you think of the new road? Are you a resident on Kings Road and pleased to see it open?

Let us know on social media or by emailing newsdesk@newburynews.co.uk