Pork Pie Roundabout Scheme

A £3 million scheme to improve Leicester's Pork Pie junction and the roads around it is to go to councillors for approval.

The scheme would include traffic signal controls at the four main approaches to the Pork Pie roundabout. Bus and cycle lanes would be provided on the two Saffron Lane approaches. And these roads would be re-designed to allow buses to move to the head of traffic queues without affecting the capacity of the junction.

All six arms of the junction would have pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities. And pedestrians and cyclists would benefit from upgraded crossings on Glenhills Way, and an additional toucan crossing to the west of Sturdee Road.

Under the proposals the Pork Pie island would be re-designed, and the number of lanes around it reduced from three to two on one side.

Cllr Dale Keeling, Freemen Councillor and member of the council's Highways Committee said, "The City Council have consulted widely on these plans, and they seem to have come up with a scheme that meets the majority of residents concerns."

Officers have consulted local people on the scheme and made some changes to their proposal as a result. These include planting 120 semi-mature trees along both sides of Glenhills Way, and providing noise-fencing further along Glenhills Way towards Lutterworth Road.

The proposals follow on from an earlier scheme which was rejected by the council's Cabinet in January 2006. The first scheme included proposals to widen Glenhills Way, which was not supported by councillors.

If approved by Cabinet on Monday 15th January, work would get under way in May this year, and finish in the autumn.

During the three years from 2003 to 2005, there were 26 casualties from road traffic accidents in the area.