Work to start on Topsham Road junction

Work to tackle congestion and improve safety at a busy junction in Exeter will get underway on Monday (28 July).

The £180,000 scheme will simplify signal arrangements and improve crossings at the junction of Topsham Road, Southbrook Road and Tollards Road. As well as improving safety, this will aim to stop rat running on the service road, prevent red light running, and maintain capacity for citybound traffic on Topsham Road.

The scheme includes the installation of a Toucan crossing in Topsham Road at the signal controlled junction with Southbrook Road, linking directly to the shared cycle path and footway.

There will be a Toucan crossing at the eastbound exit of Southbrook Road and an uncontrolled crossing across the Southbrook Road arm of the junction.

A footpath will also be constructed across the entrance to the service road to link to existing pavements on Topsham Road and Southbrook Road, in order to discourage the use of the service road as a rat run. Dropped kerbs will enable refuse vehicles to continue to access the road. The footway on the west side of Southbrook Road will also be widened  and double yellow lines will also be added at the entrance to Southbrook Road to ensure traffic flows freely.

The scheme was approved by the Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee in January, following a three-day survey at the junction last year. The survey found that around a quarter of all vehicles turning left from Southbrook Road used the service road as a rat run in order to avoid the traffic signals. There were also several instances of red light running through the toucan crossing and it was noted that a high number of northbound cars accelerated through the toucan crossing on amber, which meant that cars went through the lights at the Southbrook junction on red.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “This scheme provides a number of benefits and should put an end to red light violations and motorists speeding through the second set of lights. Not only will it improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road, but hopefully it will also encourage more people to make local journeys by bike or on foot to reduce dependency on cars.”

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Devon County Councillor Cabinet Liaison for Exeter and Local Member for St Loyes and Topsham, said: “These improvements are at a crucial location as it is near to the West of England School and College for young people with little or no sight, so we need the crossings to be as safe as possible. No doubt residents will be glad to see a reduction in the number of cars using the service road as a rat run, and commuters should benefit from improved traffic flows.”

The work, which will be carried out by contractor Bridge Civil Engineering Ltd, is expected to take around six weeks.