Plans for famous Wiltshire junction ‘delight’ locals

A woman who was injured in a crash has welcomed plans for traffic lights at a junction known locally as an accident black spot.

Wiltshire Council has confirmed it will install traffic lights at Black Dog Crossroads, near Devizes, a measure long called for by campaigners.

Ann Venus, from Little Cheverell, who said she suffered severe whiplash after a van crashed into the side of her car, welcomed the plans, adding the council was “finally doing the right thing”.

Councilor Nick Holder, cabinet member for highways, said: “We are committed to improving road safety for all our road users in Wiltshire.”

Ms Venus said she was “shocked” after the accident, which happened several years ago.

“It happens so suddenly and it takes you completely by surprise,” she explained, “I had the whiplash but I couldn’t even feel it – I was numb, I couldn’t feel anything.”

She added that she had been disappointed by the lack of safety measures at the junction and was now “delighted” with the planned installation of traffic lights.

The investment of an extra £2 million in road safety schemes comes just months after Wiltshire Council closed the C20 near the Black Dog junction in an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO).

Road safety campaigners called the ETRO “absolutely insane” because it was predicted to reduce accidents by just 30%.

Mr Holder explained the new decision: “We know the Black Dog junction needs safety improvements and have previously looked at other options to make it safer for all road users and have looked at widening the junction.

“However, this additional investment has allowed us to further explore the option of traffic lights and will allow us to install a suitable power supply which will be commissioned next year.”

Road safety campaigner Michael Maxwell has been campaigning for traffic lights at Black Dog Crossroads for five years.

“Speed ​​is a real problem because you’re stopped on Worton Road and you have to get back onto a road and get up to at least 50km/h in a very short space of time,” he explained.

With cars having to stop at the junction soon, Mr Maxwell is confident that “the improvement in accidents will be 100 per cent unless people break the law and run red lights”.

Work is scheduled to begin in 2025 with the installation of the power supply required for the new traffic lights.