CONTROVERSIAL new traffic lights on the A666 could be effectively switched off in the new year for a trial period.

Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Kate Hollern has asked traffic experts to look at whether it would be possible without massive disruption to either the hi-tech system or traffic flow.

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The lights, part of the Pennine Reach scheme, have been installed in the Hollins Grove area of Darwen.

Coun Hollern told a meeting in Darwen Town Hall: “Traffic is flowing better than it was, I am sure most people will agree with that, but we need to narrow the problem down to find a solution.”

Darwen MP Jake Berry, who has led criticism of the effect on traffic movement which seemed to follow the introduction of the lights covering the main road and the junctions of Hollins Grove Street and Earnsdale Road, suggested that the lights could be ‘hooded’ for a trial period while leaving on the pelican crossing.

He said: “We need to do something about public acceptance. We need to fill the credibility gap.

“This is worth a try and then we will be able to draw a comparison.”

A council technician said that it wasn’t simply a case of hooding the traffic lights and that they were closely linked to the new multi-million pound Pennine Reach road scheme.

Leaving just the pedestrian crossing operating for a trial period would present problems and could take ‘a lot of work’.

Nearby resident Jamie Haddow said the problem with the new lights was that drivers tended to race at them while previously there was a lot of old-world courtesy and traffic flowed well.

Coun Hollern said she was expecting a feasibility report by mid-January and the visual ‘switch-off’ could take place soon afterwards.

She also said that the council was going to take a close look at the Birch Hall junction where an improved mini-roundabout system might be a better option than another set of lights.

She said: “We are taking a very close look at this.”

There has been a three-week exercise to check on traffic flow between the Circus and the M65 Junction Four at Earcroft.

Charts and graphs indicated that the average time for a vehicle to complete that journey at peak times in the morning and afternoon was between six and eight minutes either way.

l The Friends of Darwen Library have set up a detailed map of the A666 from the Savoy area through Ewood, showing exactly what is being planned.