Northampton motorists held in town centre gridlock

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-28078297

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Hundreds of motorists were held in town centre gridlock for more than an hour after a set of traffic lights failed in Northampton.

Traffic ground to a halt about 14:00 BST on Saturday when the lights failed near the town's new £7m North Gate Bus Station at the top of the Drapery.

Some motorists said they were blocked in car parks for up to 90 minutes because of the congestion.

Both the county and borough council are yet to comment.

Northamptonshire Police advised people to avoid the area.

Jess Austin tweeted: "Northampton buses causing chaos again. Stuck in Grosvenor car park for hour."

Commuter 'nightmare'

Ann, a bus user trying to get home to Kingsthorpe, told BBC Radio Northampton: "Getting into the bus station was a nightmare - there were people all over the place.

"Eventually they started taking people on to the buses... it was absolute chaos, there were buses everywhere."

The town centre was previously gridlocked in March on the day the North Gate terminus opened. A report found a mini-roundabout was to blame.

The report by Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council said the risk of problems had not been recognised during the planning process.

People commenting on social media said the "chaos" once again implied the new site was too small and in the wrong place.