A TRANSPORT chief has admitted his frustration at the continuing problems with the traffic lights at a major junction in Gerrards Cross.

The parish council recently conducted an extensive survey involving 2,000 villagers – saying it revealed "overwhelming dissatisfaction" with the junction on Packhorse Road, outside Tesco.

It said county chiefs had refused to acknowledge the ‘serious and potentially dangerous problems’ experienced by pedestrians at the junction.

The survey revealed that many motorists now used Bull Lane and Marsham Lane to avoid the queues at the lights, as well as comments about the pedestrian refuges being too small and the elderly and partially sighted having trouble crossing the road.

Peter Hardy, transport boss at Bucks County Council, said: "Like a lot of people I am frustrated with the history of continuing software issues with the timings of these traffic lights.

"This has gone on far too long. I am therefore including these lights in a full external review of our traffic light systems in Wycombe and Aylesbury to be commenced as soon as possible after the school holidays."

He said the survey by Gerrards Cross Parish Council was "very helpful in highlighting residents' views", but said comments about the junction being a "death trap" were unhelpful.

He added: "The developer has undertaken a road safety audit at the traffic lights.

"This audit has been reviewed by Transport for Buckinghamshire in line with BCC processes. Also there have been no reported injury incidents at these lights in nearly two years of operation.

"There is no evidence which justifies the use of the words "death trap" and people should be reassured on this point.

"We cannot change the fact that we have a large supermarket in the middle of a small village with very limited road capacity. This will inevitably impact on traffic flows. The job of the traffic lights is to regulate these flows."