A councillor ended up directing traffic after temporary lights broke and site workers got stuck in the resulting queues this morning.
Bridget Fishleigh stepped in for 10 minutes when the temporary traffic lights in Rottingdean which sparked gridlock on the A259 broke.
The four-way lights on Marine Drive, Rottingdean have created long queues again this morning, after a gas main was broken during works by Southern Water overnight on Tuesday, 16 April.
Brighton and Hove News understands that the night time site manager did not know how to fix the temporary traffic lights and the day time traffic manager had not arrived until 9am.
Councillor Fishleigh said the spotters – site workers who monitor traffic flows – were also leaving and their replacements not being directed to where they could see the tailbacks.
When the temporary lights were fixed, too much traffic was let in from Rottingdean High Street while the A259 into Brighton was only being let through a minute at a time.
Councillor Fishleigh, who represents Rottindean, posted on Facebook: “The spotters just arrived. They got caught in traffic at Woodingdean. I am now now persuading them to let westbound traffic run for much longer.
“The person who is in charge of the machine that changes the lights doesn’t know how to work it.
“When pedestrians press the button to cross, everything stops but I’ve just been told off for asking someone not to press.
“The man who knows how to work the machine that controls the traffic lights has just arrived one hour late. He lives in London.”
Brighton and Hove City Council said on Twitter yesterday: “Unfortunately a gas main was damaged while Southern Water was carrying out planned works overnight on Marine Drive in Rottingdean.
“SGN is now on site to repair it. Temporary traffic lights need to remain in place during the day to allow the repair to be carried out safely.”
Yesterday, Southern Water said in a statement: “Southern Water teams are replacing a water main on Marine Drive, Rottingdean.
“We are carrying out the repair works at night, at the request of Brighton & Hove Council and Brighton Bus Company. The repair work started on Tuesday 16 April and is scheduled to finish on Friday 19 April.
“However, to carry out the works safely, 4-way temporary traffic lights are in place. We apologise for the traffic disruption and the inconvenience caused. We are working as quickly as we can to finish the work as soon as possible.”
SGN Gas has been contacted for comment.
Will she be claiming for her time I wonder.
Basic allowance, Arnold. It’s not an hourly rate.
Cllr Fishleigh one of the best councillors we have, engages with the local community and actually cares.
Presumably she worked the traffic lights with one hand while frantically virtue-signalling with the other.
Amusing but misdirected. Plenty of the councillors could be accused of virtue signaling but not this one.
How amazing and wonderful to have such a hands on Councillor! Someone who actually cares about her community and gets things done. Thank you!
Well done ‘Hands On’ Bridget
Went through road works around 2pm today noted 6 workers either on there phone or just chatting only one sweeping so I guess that’s getting the job done quick to stop other people from being late for there important jobs
Bridget is an excellent councillor
Absolutely, she does a lot for her constituency.
A modern-day Ealing film beckons.
10 minutes work and the rest of the day talking about it. We all know people like that