St Albans Road, Watford set for signal changes to cut delays

Watford councillors and Berkley Homes confirmed the traffic lights at the junction of St Albans Road and Penn Road, by the company's ongoing Eight Gardens development, will have additional sensors to give more of a bias to St Albans Road.

These will detect whether vehicles are in-place to turn into or out of Penn Road, and if they aren’t, the lights will prioritise letting traffic flow on the major road.

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Liberal Democrat borough councillor Dawn Allen-Williamson met with Berkley Homes on July 10 after locals complained over traffic in the road since the works began in Penn Road.

Traffic signalling apparently hadn’t been adjusted since before the site was taken over for works. The company had said it was not in control of the lights but contacted the responsible parties.

This morning (July 19), councillor Ian Stotesbury shared a video with a Berkley Homes representative confirming the changes would be going ahead.

Cllr @Dawn44022753 and I have been working to improve traffic flow along St Albans Road. Raising the issue for the past few months and Dawn meeting with Berkeley Homes last Monday we can confirm new signals will soon go in at Penn Road that will prioritise St Albans Road traffic. pic.twitter.com/5ENuParWdC

— Ian Stotesbury 🔶️ (@ianstotesbury) July 19, 2023

Project construction director Henry Castle-Smith said: “We have been in contact with Herts County Council and we have manged to effectively solve the issue.

“Within the next two weeks we will have some additional sensors being installed on the lights which will provide a better bias for St Albans Road and hopefully improve it for local road users as they go through the junction.”

Cllr Stotesbury, who is the council’s cabinet member responsible for transport, added that the changes aim to “increase the flow of transport down St Albans Road” and they are expected to go live in around two weeks’ time.

Cllr Dawn Allen-Williamson by the traffic signal (Image: Cllr Dawn Allen-Williamson)

The borough councillor told the Watford Observer that residents had complained of increasing congestion in the road, and he had been pushing for changes since May.

He added that part of the recent worsened traffic may be down to other roadworks in St Albans Road, but he hoped the signals will still reduce overall traffic.

Works vehicles avoiding rush hour and other smaller “sensible” compromises were also discussed in order to limit traffic.