A town councillor says temporary traffic lights set up on a site designated for a puffin crossing caused extreme congestion during the three weeks that the Keswick Convention was running.
The light controlled puffin crossing close to the Crosthwaite Centre and the busy Tithebarn Street junction was proposed by Cumbria County Council highways as a condition of granting planning permission for the Premier Inn application.
But Councillor Steve Harwood said he had received reports that temporary traffic lights set up at the same location by organisers of the Keswick Convention had resulted in some vehicles taking 70 minutes to get through town.
He said that no criticism was implied of the convention organisers as they were simply trying to facilitate access to their venues and added that the delays could have been compounded by the long-standing congestion already experienced on Borrowdale Road at this time of year.
Councillor Harwood said: “My personal view is that this is a totally inappropriate location for an additional set of traffic lights in the town.
“We should be thinking of what is best for the town rather than pursuing an unsatisfactory solution with long term consequences.
“I would like to see such funding diverted to the crossing proposed for Keswick School children further down High Hill but accept this may not be possible in the context of the current planning condition.
“Hoping this option comes to fruition at some point I feel it would be problematic if we ended up with two sets of traffic lights between the school and the Tithebarn Street junction.”
The 71-bedroom Premier Inn hotel will be built on the site once occupied by the former Ravensfield Residential Care Home on High Hill.
It will cost £6 million and create 30 new permanent jobs.
