“It is a miracle no-one has been killed” at the Dome roundabout, transport chiefs heard today.

More than 600 people have signed a petition urging Hertfordshire County Council to pull the plug on the lights- with County Hall admitting in a report the signals had caused “significant queueing".

While upgrade works were completed, the lights were switched off and motorists said travelling through the roundabout was much smoother.

But now the lights have been switched on following the completion of the work, the campaign to get them switched off again has gathered pace.

New technology is being introduced in the lights, with council chiefs hoping it will help ease congestion and they will analyse traffic-flow for six months.

Councillor Derek Scudder told the Highways and Waste Management Panel said: “There was on-demand lights provided for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road safely and the rest of the lights were switched off.

“As a result, there was a huge reduction in the queues in the area around the roundabout. There was a big reduction in congestion on the roads leading off the roundabout.”

“What we are asking for is officers to look very seriously at redesigning the roundabout and use section 106 money [developer contributions] to re-design the roundabout so we can have the lights off but lights there to protect pedestrians and cyclists”.

Councillor Anne Joynes said: “Because of how close the two traffic lights are [on the A41], we have seen people driving through red lights.

“It is a miracle no-one has been killed.”

Council chiefs will then spend six months analysing traffic data before making any final decision.

Councillor Terry Douris, lead member for Highways and Waste Management in the administration said: “There has been a 50/50 between the number of people who want the lights and those who don’t.

“There has been a number of people who have said turn the lights off, but we have also had those who have said ‘for goodness sake don’t turn them out.”

Reports by transport chiefs showed in the four years before lights were first introduced at the Dome roundabout in 1992 there 37 accidents, of which 17 involved pedestrians.

In the last years, the number of accidents has fallen to 25 and only six of those involved pedestrians.

Officers have urged councillors to monitor traffic flow and the signal timings and make a decision based on the findings in the autumn.

Politicians also agreed to for another report to be presented to another meeting of the Highways and Waste Management Panel showing the “before and after results” which are expected to be produced in April.

Depending on the results of this report, the advantages and disadvantages of a major re-design of the major roundabout will then be assessed and this would include cost and benefit.