Many thanks for your letter 27.10.09 which gives me hope that this issue is not being but on a back burner. One of the main problems during peak periods is that there is not enough time allowed by the lights at the junction with Bury Old Road to back up and prevent cars driving up Bury New Road to come to a halt and allow access and egress to and from the estate. Why not move the traffic lights on the north bound side of Bury New Road at this junction closer to the estate entrance?

As a driver of a car which is over 4 metres long, turning right towards Junction 17 is a nightmare. The present positioning of the end of the central refuge makes it extremely difficult to straighten the car up in order to avoid the rear of the vehicle from obstructing the outside lane of the A56. The mirror is also at the wrong angle to see oncoming traffic which necessitates having to contort one’s body for a safe view. As a disabled driver, with a spinal problem, this contortion becomes more difficult with each passing year. The extra metre-wide hatching proposed, although alleviating part of the problem, does not allow my vehicle to straighten up in the central reservation area. Only by moving the end of the island towards Prestwich will we have at least a chance of bringing the vehicle to a parallel stop. The idiots who drive out to turn right when a vehicle is already waiting in the centre should realise that the view of the earlier driver is blocked completely by their vehicle, but that is common road sense. Of course traffic signals are the best option for this junction, but having lived here for 40 years listening to various discussions on the subject, I wouldn’t advise holding your breath! At last, with the help of Ivan Lewis M.P. the light seems to be a little near to the end of the tunnel. Let’s hope we all live to see it. Yours faithfully, Joseph A. Altham.

I was unaware of the meeting earlier in the year and am responding to a recent letter received, I read with interest the report prepared by Les Watts and would like to make the following observations:- Whilst there may have been 12 reported collisions over a 15 year period how many "near misses" have there been which of course are not recorded, I am not personally convinced that the remarking of the northbound carriageway of Bury New Road and the hatching of the second lane will make any difference whatsoever to motorists exiting or entering the Trees Estate for the simple reason that the marjority of motorists using Bury New Road totally ignore the current "KEEP CLEAR BOX" even when the lights are on RED at the junction of Bury New Road and Barn Street. I totally support the introduction of automatic traffic signalcontrol as the only effective measure for this location.

I think the good news is that the Council accept that their current proposal is ‘an interim solution’ and they have not dismissed traffic signals as a long-term solution. In fact the Council report says that traffic signals ‘could be accommodated at the junction and a further report will be issued when further investigations have taken place’. My main concern with the interim proposals is that new hatchings are only a maximum of 1m wide. The width of the central reservation is approx 2.2m. This means that the central reservation would therefore be approx 3.2m. However, my car length is approx 5m meaning vehicles would still be blocking part of the northbound outside lane when waiting to turn right. I would therefore suggest that we ask if the central reserve could be widened further to 5m. I believe this would be possible given how wide the nearside lane is heading northbound. I think we should also ask if there is anything we can do to help our case – e.g. is it worth asking residents to record collisions and near-misses? Finally I think we should also thank the Council for removing bollard already which was obstructing views and I notice works have started last week to remove the misleading priority sign in Chestnut Avenue.

I have lived here nineteen years,trafic has gone a lot more dangerous at the junction of Chestnut Ave,with several accidents.also it dos'nt help when cars are doing u turns,also four out of six cars come in just to turn round and go out again,also to answer mobile phones, which goes on all day long. Not to mention the allday parking on the imediate roads.There used to be a roundabout years ago on Beech Ave, I think it would be a good idea to replace it Good luck Ivan. Thanks

70 residents turned up this evening to meet Bury Council Traffic Management officers organised by Ivan Lewis MP. A list of problems with the Chestnut Avenue junction were put forward and a response to the options suggested were discussed. Ivan requested that proposals be drawn up by the Council by the end of September to tackle the concerns by Trees Estate residents. PLEASE KEEP ADDING YOUR COMMENTS HERE and return for updates as they are received by Ivan. Thank you to everyone who turned up to show your support.

I agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion this needs looking at. I will still be at work at 17.30 on the 12th but you have my support 100%.

We have lived in the Tree Estate for two and a half years now and we have always thought this junction to be very problematic. We are very happy that somebody is trying to do something about it and for this you have our full support. We missed yesterday's meeting, however we would like to reiterate once more our support for this cause.

Re-Trees Estate Petition- I unfortunately missed the petition and am also unable to attend the meeting on 12.8.09. HOwever I would very much like to add my support to make the entrance/exit a lot safer. The suggestion of temporary traffic lights is an excellent one and gets my full support

I saw another bad crash here yesterday at around 6pm with the police in attendance. At least one car was a write-off.

I am delighted to say that I have been inundated with support for our campaign to improve traffic safety and access. We will be finalising the petition in the next week and will keep you informed of the next stage in our campaign. Many thanks for your support. Ivan

Well done Ivan, talk about taking your life in your hands when entering and leaving our estate, and at key rush our times you can forget going out you have my vote just by sorting this problem alone. Many thanks for the support.

Very pleased that you are making progress in this campaign. I have lived on the Trees Estate for 10 years and dread trying to leave the estate at peak times. My wife actually gave up driving shortly after moving on to the estate, the ordeal of using this junction shattered her confidence.

I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of putting traffic lights at the entrance to the "trees estate". It would make it not only easier for motorists, but safer too.

Yesterday I saw another collision at this junction, although minor and no one was injured. When you are turning right into the estate the bollard obstructs the view of the fastest lane of the oncoming traffic. The traffic will not stop to let you through. There needs to be part time traffic signals. It is just the same trying to get out. You can never get straight across and have to wait in the middle, which is very precarious and blocks the fast lane going to Bury. Sometimes you get two cars in the middle waiting to get in the lane going Manchester way and then you cannot see what is coming when your behind another car in the middle. It's a nightmare except when it is school holidays.

I live on the Trees Estate and have seen at least three accidents in the two years and 4 months that I have lived there. I think that the box junction is a dangerous way to enter and leave the estate, which at best can leave you waiting at the junction for several minutes and at worst, result in an accident. I would greatly welcome any improvement on the current arrangement, as things only appear to be deteriorating.

Thank you for taking action. I would like to see a traffic light combined with a Red-&-Green Man for pedestrians to cross safely to the Metrolink. I would also support measures to slow traffic down along this stretch of road.

I have been living on the estate for around 5 years and the junction that leads to the trees estate is one of the dangerous and time consuming juction i have ever seen. I hope that this problem can be solved and i will give full support and backing to whatever is need to make the junction much safer. I would suggest that there should be traffic lights just before the yellow box junction which change at the same time as the traffic lights infront. This means that traffic from the junction must stop and give us a safer and easier approch to the junction. Thank you for taking action.

I hope this action does not go into another file and left, its very important to the residents. i have to arrange everything i do because of the traffic, i go to work earlier just to avoid being late. i ve given up certain hobbies because if its peak time i cant face it, so i think everyone will agree we need action, i also agree about the pavements and edges we are left behind, Ross Ave pavements are a mess.

This certainly has my backing! It's very difficult,dangerous and time consuming to negotiate the 3 lanes of oncoming traffic when entering or leaving. And impossible to turn right toward Prestwich at certain times of day. In the evening rush hour the yellow box is ignored by traffic going toward Whitefield. Increasingly, the entrance to the estate is being used for U-turns. This is especially dangerous as it blocks the road to cars waiting to enter (a scary prospect with a lorry hurtling toward you at 40 MPH). Also blocking the entrance are cars stopping off from the main road to take mobile phone calls. I also think that speeding within the estate is a problem, given that the children here have no open space/park nearby and with all the parked cars. I will second Julie about the pavements too, I wish I had bought one of those prams for made for rugged terrain! Thankyou, LV.

We have lived on the Tree Estate for about ten years now.Entering and leaving the estate is a complete nightmare and we have seen a few collisions which so far have not been fatal thank god.We are happy that now somebody is prepared to sit up and listen and try and help the situation.You have our complete support in this matter lets hope that at last something may be done to prevent a tragic accident on this junction.

I have lived on the Trees Estate for many years and I am very pleased that hopefully something will now be done to help everyone on this estate. It is a nightmare trying to get in or out of the estate. I have had a car written off by a lorry as I tried to pull out of the estate (the lorry driver drove off but thankfully another motorist managed to stop him). You have my whole families support in your efforts. Thank you

I have lived on the Tree's Estate all my life(47 years)and have seen over the years the growing traffic and danger of coming on and off the estate. My family and I are right behind your campaign and you will have our full support.

Finally something is being done about this hazzardous and life threatening road junction. I personally was involved in a collision with my two children in the car, leaving for school last year. The traffic comming off the motorway is usually travelling at above the speed limit, having just left the motorway and entering a dual carriageway. You take your life into there hands trying to get out, on to the main road. I was waiting for 10 mins the other day just to get out. As when the lights change to red the traffic blocks your exit from the trees estate. Even though there has been a box junction and a keep clear area. People avoid coming to see us when passing as they think it is so bad. I feel sorry for any learner drivers that may live on the estate. It must be terrifying when you are just learning to drive. What also tends to happen is two lanes of traffic will stop to let you in or out. Then the other lane will not stop, then cars from the back of the stopped lanes, change lanes and come speeding up. Since this speeding car smashed into the back of me, when I was taking the children to school, I am scared of just edging out, like a lot do. I wait until I am sure I can get out safely. This can hold up about 10 cars behind me getting really irate. Please help!!! The Trees estate and Ross Avenue always get forgotten. Just look at the state of the pavements and the road surfaces. In the 20 years I have lived here, we have suffered from the motorway threat and all the horrors that brought, with it and now we are like a forgotten area. Places like Unsworth where my children go to school, have had the roads and pavements done at least 2 times. Whitefield was once a prestigious place to live when I was little. Now it is becoming a dump.

It is good to hear that you are going to take this problem on board Ivan. As a resident of this estate for over 40yrs I have seen it go steadily worse now it is like playing Russian roulette getting in and out of the estate.

Well done Ivan, I am a non motorist but many friends who visit me on the estate (by car) struggle at this junction on a regular basis, not just at peak times either.