A404 Bisham Roundabout Consultation

What option 2 really means for our area

You may well be aware that a consultation is currently open for potential changes to the A404 Bisham roundabout. Two out of the three options add traffic lights to the junction, but option 2 has some far-reaching effects on traffic flows in the West side of Maidenhead, Cookham Dean, and Bisham. If you live in or drive through those areas, you will be affected if it goes ahead!

Unfortunately, the consultation document describes the option poorly, so that the impacts of this change are not at all clear. It describes it as a Left In, Left Out junction with no right turn from Bisham. It says nothing about changes to the A308 in the leaflet, nor is there any recognition of any traffic impacts other than Bisham. You have to read the full document to find any information at all.

 ·         From the A308 (down the hill from Furze Platt) there is no access straight across to Bisham/Marlow bridge or right towards High Wycombe. You can only turn left onto the A404 towards Hurley/M4.

·         From Bisham there is no access straight across up the hill (A308) to Maidenhead or right towards the M4. You can only turn left towards High Wycombe.

These facts were confirmed by the Highways Agency this week. They also confirmed that there will definitely be no tunnel under the roundabout for local traffic, which is mooted in the consultation as a possibility – the ‘light vehicle subway option’. This has been ruled out.

So what will the effects of this be?

Significant additional congestion on the West side of Maidenhead that will adversely affect journey times and quality of life for local residents i.e.

·         Drivers to Bisham/Marlow bridge will have to find alternative routes that allow access to the A404 at Burchetts Green or the Bath Road junction, using residential roads like Pinkneys Drive/Road that are already extremely busy with queues at peak time.

·         Traffic to Marlow that wishes to avoid this disruption would be likely to use Quarry Wood Hill (the Longridge road), resulting in additional congestion here too.

·         Lorries which currently use the A308 would have to find completely different routes, as the residential roads concerned are weight or width limited. Hence other local roads and the A4 would be affected too.

·         People travelling from Bisham to Hurley or Maidenhead station or the M4 would face having to drive to the Marlow/Bourne End junction of the A404, to double back on the A404, or use Quarry Wood Hill. Both are busy and unpredictable routes – and much longer.

·         When a problem occurs on the road network, a major route would not be available to help people find ways around the problem. We already suffer from real traffic problems when this happens; taking a road out of the system would cause this to deteriorate further.

So what can we do about this?

Please respond to the consultation before 12 September to make it clear that option 2 would be totally unacceptable to local residents.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a404-bisham-roundabout-design-options

If you would like to be kept informed by local residents if this option proceeds, please fill in your contact details here - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/defendlocaltraffic

If you have any questions, the Highways Agency’s email address is area3communications@emhighways.co.uk