Speed fears over troops' return to Staffordshire site
A campaign has been launched for a slower speed limit and more traffic lights on one of the busiest roads in a Staffordshire town to cope with the return of 1,000 troops to an army barracks.
Around 350 new homes will be built and existing buildings revamped as part of the £150 million transformation of MoD Stafford, Beacon Barracks.
But councillors are concerned about the raised potential for car crashes along A513 Beaconside, with planning bosses at the council admitting the road will become congested by 2022.
A special committee has already granted outline planning permission for redevelopment of the MoD site, including a new access road 20 yards north of the existing entrance, which would be sealed off.
However, councillors have criticised the scheme for not including traffic lights at the new access point and saying the road is already too fast.
Councillor Jack Kemp wants the 50mph speed limit on Beaconside to be reduced. He is also concerned that traffic on the road has already increased in recent years because of the Staffordshire University campus.
"Forty years ago there were only five or six vehicles a day using the road, now traffic speeds along there and this is a worry."
He pledged to pursue the matter with the Staffordshire County Council's highways department.
"I will not let this matter rest, it's too important," he said. "Traffic heading west towards the M6 comes blind at speed over the railway bridge 200 yards away and will not see cars waiting to turn into the barracks."
Councillor Ian Hollinshead said he was "amazed" that an extra 350 homes for the soldiers returning from Germany did not necessitate the need for traffic lights.
"This beggars belief. It's a fast road. Parts of Stafford look like Blackpool Illuminations there are so many traffic lights," he added.
Staffordshire County Council development control officer Paul Hurdus said assessments had been carried out on the amount of traffic the site will generate and it had been decided that there was no need for lights at the new junction.
As well as the new houses, current MoD buildings will be refurbished.
The first servicemen will move over in 2015 in a phased two-year transfer.
