New traffic lights outside Bognor's Tesco store said to cause huge tailbacks

The new vehicle control system along the A29 Shripney Road's northern dual carriageway came into operation on Friday, July 31.

But, by Monday's (August 3) meeting of the town council, problems with the Tesco-funded lights were being reported by councillors.

The council members agreed to repeat their previous opposition to the lights, which include a pedestrian and cyclist crossing phase, to Arun District Council which passed the plans for them.

Jason Passingham said he had been contacted many times during the previous weekends by unhappy motorists.

"The situation for traffic is worse now than it was when the roadworks were taking place," he stated.

"It's appalling and I would like to ask for the lights to be taken out."

It only needed a few cones and some concrete to create a filtration lane into the store to solve the problems caused by the original access and exit junction with the main road.

He warned the possible arrival of another set of lights for the planned Sainsbury's store on the other side of Shripney Road would turn that stretch of the A29 into a bottleneck.

Simon McDougall, who is also a county and district councillor, said every councillor he knew wanted a dedicated slip road into Tesco.

But they were told confidential legal advice meant that was not possible.

"I am very disappointed to see what I feel is a second-class scheme there," he stated.

"When I was there in the middle of Saturday afternoon, I counted 27 cars queuing to get out of Tesco when I was told there would be no more than 20.

"There were also more than the 13 cars I was told would be backed up waiting to go into Tesco."

Ken Scutt stated: "It seems to me that Tesco are a law unto themselves, which is all wrong."

Paul Wells added motorists were now putting their foot down to get out of Tesco, in a new outside lane created in the exit, to create a speed problem just north of the junction.

The lights have been the subject of controversy in Bognor for at least four years. Their installation goes back ten years to approval for an extension to Tesco store with the company ordered to improve its junction with the A29.

Nothing happened for many years until the traffic lights were suggested by highways officers at the county council against widespread support for a dedicated entrance lane into the store.

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