A COUNCIL chairman has come up with a scheme to keep snarled up traffic flowing in Okehampton — put in part-time traffic lights.

Okehampton Hamlets parish council chairman Brian Wood believes part-time lights should be installed in the town instead of removing them completely under plans to ease traffic congestion in the town.

Cllr Wood revealed his scheme during a discussion of Devon County Council proposals to remodel three junctions in the town centre.

At present, it is proposed to remove the traffic lights at the junctions of Fore Street with Market Street and George Street, East Street with Mill Road and Exeter Road with Barton Road.

That is part of a £95-million package to improve transport infrastructure over the next two years, with £495,000 of that money being spent in Okehampton.

The scheme has been put out to public consultation, with comments on it having to be made to the county council by November 15. Calls for a link road to take traffic out of the town centre have been ruled out, however, because of its £13million price tag.

Okehampton Hamlets parish councillors expressed some reservations about completely removing lights as that might result in stoppages elsewhere, although it was accepted that traffic would pass through the town more smoothly.

Cllr Wood told his colleagues that taking the lights out completely would mean extra expense if they had to be replaced in the future.

He said: ‘Part-time lights are a possibility, as it works in other towns. If for any reason the A30 is shut during the summer, then the town would be gridlocked and having the lights in place would mean there would be some sort of control.

‘I would say don’t take the lights out and then find that they have to be put back in, because if they had to be put back, it would cost a lot of money.’