I am puzzled as to why Watford Council has spent a lot of money to supposedly improve a pedestrian crossing. In fact it has the opposite effect as currently set up. Previously, pedestrians would cross Clarendon Road perfectly safely when its lights were red. Then they would cross Beechen Grove during its red phase. But now, if pedestrians wait for their green phase to cross in one go, it actually takes longer as the whole cycle is slower, disadvantaging everybody.

So, why not split the cycle and give pedestrians the original phases they used anyway, improving traffic flow?

A further area of poor design of this new junction is the narrower entry into the High Street, causing turning buses to have to swing left into through traffic to clear the pedestrian bollards.

Why can road scheme designers not envisage these problems, saving a lot of ratepayers’ money as well as the disruption we all had to endure?

N King

Croxley Green