A PETITION calling on council bosses to scrap a controversial one way system trial designed to ease congestion in Evesham is gathering momentum.

The one way system is due to be introduced as a six-month trial later this month in the town's Avon Street, preventing traffic turning right out of Brick Kiln Street.

By removing the Avon Street signal phase, Worcestershire County Council says the junction will be simplified and will allow more time on green for the High Street traffic running north/south, thereby reducing congestion. However, critics say the trial will make congestion worse and will not provide any useful data as it will be introduced during the coronavirus lockdown.

The petition, set up by town councillor Emma Nishigaki, is on change.org (https://bit.ly/2WJvjmb) and calls on Worcestershire County Council to axe the scheme which is due to be trialled from Sunday, May 24.

Traffic management barriers to narrow the road will be installed. The trial is expected to last a minimum of six months to determine the effects on the network.

Town councillor Emma Nishigaki is calling on the public to sign the petition and has criticised the county council for introducing the trial during lockdown.

Cllr Nishigaki says in the online petition: "This means all cars and delivery vehicles must now exit this residential area via Albert Road or Queens Road.

"Both these roads are already heavily congested. At peak times cars can not leave to enter the High Street due to congestion and in turn block the entry of traffic leading to grid lock. Houses in Albert Road and Queens Road are regularly trapped by tailbacks.

"To compound matters, both Albert Road and Queens Road have 7.5t limits. This will force all such vehicles over Black Bridges which is also congested. It’s a major walking route to Tesco and the Retail Park and has no pavement.

"Every vehicle will either have to travel along the very narrow residential street of Briar Close, or contend with the tight bend at the junction of Bewdley Lane and Albert Road. This area is already nearly impossible to navigate at busy times.

"Instead of a 30 metre trip to the High Street from Brick Kiln Street, all traffic will have to take up to nearly a mile detour via Littleworth Street or Briar Close. These are both narrow residential streets with very little distance to the road. The pollution levels are already high in the area and these will be worsened.

"This plan is ill conceived and will not work. It will be detrimental to every resident of the area. This scheme must be scrapped with immediate effect."

Cllr Ken Pollock, cabinet member with responsibility for economy and infrastructure, said he was aware there had been concerns about congestion in Evesham for years and said 'we have actively sought suggestions from all sorts of people' with a number put out out to consultation.

He was also aware of the petition and the comments would be taken into account and added: "It's disappointing the reaction to this first experiment has been so negative."

Cllr Pollock said this was the first experimental closure for a one way street and that the results would clearly not be definitive during lockdown and this would have to wait until traffic gets back to normal.

In a previous statement he said: “I am delighted that the transport strategy in Evesham is moving forward into its second phase.

"Congestion has been a real issue for the residents of Evesham for a long while now, and I’m really pleased that the trial period is going ahead. I’d encourage residents to share their thoughts with the council on this, so that we can create a strategy to keep the traffic moving more freely.”

Mark Goodge, the Mayor of Evesham, said: "I think it's worth a try. I'm not sure it will make enough of a difference to justify keeping it after the trial period, but I think it's a positive thing that the county are looking at options and are willing to test them rather than just saying there's nothing that can be done.

"My main concern at the moment is that, with traffic being a lot less because of the lockdown, I don't think we're going to get enough useful data in just six months. So it's probably going to need to be given longer to decide whether to keep it or not."

Residents can give their views by emailing the major projects team at majorprojects@worcestershire.gov.uk