Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2006-04-28

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 0102937648

Dunstable town centre suffers severe traffic congestion, due to limited road capacity and high volumes of heavy goods vehicles, causing poor air quality. The Dunstable A5 queue relocation scheme was introduced to provide a co-ordinated traffic management control system using existing and new traffic signals along the A5. The aim of the scheme was to improve the flow of traffic and reduce queues, to increase the safety and accessibility of pedestrians, to reduce accidents and lessen noise and pollution. Construction began in 1999 and was completed in 2004, at a final cost of two million pounds (although the scheme was budgeted to cost £1.4 million). The NAO report finds that the scheme has not delivered the expected benefits forecast for safety, journey times, environment and accessibility; and has failed to satisfy local expectations. Although there has been an overall reduction in accidents, there has been an increase in the number of accidents occurring at two junctions in the town centre since the scheme was introduced. Whilst the circumstances of the Dunstable scheme are specific to that location, the NAO report identifies lessons to be learned which can be applied more widely across the Highways Agency.