HIGHWAY chiefs claim congestion should soon improve on the notorious Birmingham Road.
Traffic on the road has been an ongoing issue for many years with much of it made up of shoppers heading to the Maybird Centre and nearby Tesco.
Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi has held a number of traffic summits over the last 18 months in a bid to find a solution to the endless tailbacks.
The problem has been worsened by drivers turning off the main road into Justins Avenue as they are often stopped from using the full width of the road by motorists who are inconveniently parked outside the post office and nearby public house.
This has meant vehicles could only pass one at a time and led to traffic tailbacks onto the main throughfare into Stratford town centre.
But after county councillor Keith Lloyd carried out a consultation with businesses, an application was submitted to use some of the county’s highways annual budget for improvements.
Funding was then allocated to create partial footway parking along Justins Avenue – allowing cars to park half on and half off the road.
Council chiefs say this has considerably increased the width of the carriageway and now enables two cars to pass simultaneously, which not only stops cars from blocking access to the road but also should help ease congestion.
The existing footway is set to be reconstructed as part of the improvement works.
Coun Lloyd said: “This junction – a busy road and a school bus route – has been a major problem for many years.
“This solution is pragmatic and practical and enables cars to park without impeding either two way traffic on Justins Avenue, nor does it limit pedestrian access.
“I was pleased to use delegated member budget to contribute towards funding the scheme, which will hopefully make the Birmingham Road safer and keep traffic moving.”
Warwickshire County Council has a delegated member budget of almost £2million per year for highways, which members can choose to allocate towards schemes in their wards.
