City centre roundabout branded an “eyesore”

A CITY centre roundabout needs to be “entirely redesigned” as it is turning into an eyesore after being smashed into by yet another lorry, according to a councillor.

St Albans county councillor and opposition group leader, Chris White, is calling on Herts Highways to revamp the St Peter’s Street/Hatfield Road roundabout at the top of the city centre after a truck recently collided with the brick surround.

He said: “These longer lorries are forever giving the roundabout a knock. It needs to be redesigned to get rid of the high brick surround.

“Clearly we will all want the plants to remain, but they could be located in a wooden planter.

“This should be a key positive feature of the city centre but the state it is in means that it is a sad eyesore.”

Cllr White said the problem was that the roundabout was designed long before bigger articulated lorries were driven on local roads and thus would continue looking like a “mess” until action was taken.

He added: “The white bricks are in the way, so if you get rid of them and have a lower profile at the edge, that should do the trick. If you don’t have the bricks, it would be easier to fix.”

Cllr White is strongly opposed to the junction being converted to traffic lights.

He said: They are too urban, and too much a reminder of the horrors of the one-way system in the eighties.”

A spokesperson for Herts Highways said the organisation was aware of concerns about the roundabout and was currently investigating whether its design needed changing.

He added: “Initial investigations appear to show that while large vehicles can negotiate the roundabout successfully the odd one can experience difficulty, resulting in damage to the brickwork.”