The A259 road improvement scheme causes chaos and anger

A second set of temporary traffic lights has gone up this week on the A259.

They are restricting traffic flow to just a single carriageway outside the University of Chichester campus.

This has led to lengthy tailbacks at peak times. One morning saw drivers coming from the east having to queue as far back as the Arun Leisure Centre, some half a mile from the cause of the delay.

In the opposite direction, vehicles stretched past Hotham Park. The situation has led to long delays in journeys to and from work.

The closure of half of the short stretch of Upper Bognor Road is to allow work to take place on one of the ancient walls on the university’s boundary. It will last until the end of next week (March 4).

Paul Wells, a district councillor for Bognor Hotham, said the scheme was badly timed. Traffic flow along the A259 has been badly disrupted since the start of this month by another set of temporary lights at North Bersted.

These will be in place for another five weeks to enable work to be carried out on the western roundabout for the new northern relief road.

Cllr Wells, who is also a county councillor, said: “I’ve had several phone calls and comments from people complaining about the latest set of traffic lights,” he said.

“It’s caused people real problems in going about their daily lives. That stretch of the A259 is really criticial to Bognor’s transport system anyway because it is so busy.

“To have a set of traffic lights there for two weeks is always going to cause problems.

“But it is bad planning to have them there while there is another set about two miles away on the same road.

“I realise the work on the university wall had to be done but it could have been carried out at another time.”