TRAFFIC bosses are urging motorists to hold fire before criticising the new gyratory scheme at Bridge Foot.

The real test of the new urban traffic control system, will be in a few weeks time when the Riverside retail park opens off Wharf Street, bringing hundreds of shoppers' cars on to the Warrington town centre road system.

The new southern expressway, from Crosfield Street to Battersby Lane, due to open next month, will also have an affect by diverting thousands of cars and lorries away from the town centre.

The extra traffic lights, road lanes and three pedestrian crossings introduced at Bridge Foot last week to ease traffic flow, have met with a mixed reaction from drivers.

Warrington Borough Council has received only one adverse comment on the scheme from a driver who was delayed on the first day of operation.

A spokesman said the installation of three additional pedestrian crossings, and an additional lane should contribute to a reduction in accidents.

Motorists joining the roundabout from Mersey Street and Wharf Street have remarked on a vast improvement. Formerly they had a long wait until a gap appeared before they could join the roundabout traffic. This led to massive tailbacks, sometimes as far as the Buttermarket Street roundabout in the rush hours.

Now they are helped into the flow by traffic lights which give them an equal waiting time with the queues coming from Wilson Patten Street.

But drivers wanting to leave the roundabout to go over the Wilderspool Causeway bridge are hitting problems with queues sometimes tailing back as far as Wharf Street in the evening peak hour.

All the traffic lights are linked to a camera and computer system in Chester and change automatically to suit the traffic conditions.

Cheshire County Council traffic engineers monitor the Bridge Foot situation from a Chester operations room six days a week and can over-ride the computer settings when necessary to keep the traffic moving.

A Cheshire Council spokesman said: "It is very early days to comment on the system. It is connected with the development that is taking place in Wharf Street.

"The real test for the system will be when the site is fully open in a few weeks time.

"Obviously there will be a lot more traffic when the shops are open. At the moment residents, construction and building traffic are finding it much easier to get out of Wharf Street.

"People on the gyratory used to go wildly round the corner at very fast speeds and nobody could get on from Mersey and Wharf Street during the peak hours. Now everybody gets a fair share."

Sainsbury's the retail park developer paid for the alterations in a scheme designed in conjunction with the county council and Warrington Borough Council.

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