Shopper vows to boycott Tesco in Bognor Regis over congestion at new traffic lights

Linda Mather said she would be going elsewhere to buy her groceries and other goods because the traffic around its entrance was so bad.

She spent 20 minutes between 11am and midday last Friday struggling to drive the few hundred metres from the hospital 'squareabout' to the Tesco entrance on Shripney Road.

Traffic was piled up into Longford Road at one point and to the White Horse in Chichester Road in another direction.

"It was absolutely chaotic," she said. "The traffic at the 'squareabout' trying to get up the A29 was being joined by vehicles coming from the Littlehampton direction. No-one could get through.

The roads were so jammed the drivers couldn't work out what lane they should have been in. The situation is going to affect all the businesses along there.

"I'm not going to Tesco any more while there is the risk of the traffic being like that. I am sure I will not be the only one."

Mrs Mather, 47, of Merchant Street, drives along Shripney Road most days. "I've been in Bognor all my life and I've never seen Shripney Road like that.

"With the new lights, you've got one person crossing each time and holding up two lanes of traffic," she continued.

"They should have built a bridge to enable people to get across the road safely without stopping the cars.

"Getting out of Tesco was just as bad as well because of the lights. Once I got out, the rest of Shripney Road was bare of traffic going towards Halfords because everyone was stuck at the lights."

Mrs Mather was one of several motorists who have contacted the Observer in the past week since we reported the concerns of Bognor town councillors immediately after the switch-on of the lights on July 31.

Another motorist, Aldwick resident Robin Parker, said: "If heading out from Bognor for the day on the A29 past the new Tesco traffic lights, add an extra hour or so for the journey. That way you won't arrive late and be flustered!"

A spokeswoman for West Sussex County Council said: "We appreciate there is queuing at present. This is not unusual when a new junction arrangement is introduced. The signals offer the opportunity to manage the traffic flow and have been designed to automatically adjust the signal timings dependent on the actual demand. The current levels

of queuing will be monitored and if necessary adjustments will be made to the signal set up to improve timings."

She stated the traffic signals were installed after Tesco applied for

planning permission to improve the access to their store in Bognor.

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