CAMPAIGNING residents face at least another year of danger on an “unsafe” road after a council dismissed a petition for changes.

Residents in Oakwood Avenue want to see the junction with the A127 closed off to stop it becoming a rat run and the speed limit reduced to 20mph to improve safety.

However, a Southend traffic committee on Thursday decided to defer a decision until the much-delayed Kent Elms junction work is completed.

Ward Councillor Stephen Aylen urged the committee to act, calling the closure of the junction a “win, win, win situation”.

He said: “The problem is coaches and heavy good vehicles swing out from Oakwood Avenue into the outer lane of the A127.

“We have just spent thousands on improvements at Kent Elm, traffic will flow through there and then we stop it here.

“We once had a similar problem with Brendan Way and we blocked it off, that solved all the problems with traffic on the A127 bunching.”

He acknowledged the closure will cause traffic to take alternative routes to the A127 but claimed most will use Bellhouse Lane, which he described as safer and underused. He went on to propose a temporary block is put in place at the junction to “see what happens”.

His proposal was rejected by chairman of the traffic committee Andrew Moring.

He said: “We’re not here to do design by committee.

“I can’t put this to a vote as it needs to be looked at by council officers properly.”

Members of the committee backed Mr Moring’s comments and agreed the council should wait until work at Kent Elms is complete before carrying out another assessment.

Residents pointed to the number of crashes on the road and the delays caused to the A127 when cars do turn out of the road.

A number of them also turned up at Thursday night’s meeting to show the strength of feeling.

However, council officers told the committee that the high number of vehicles using the junction is likely to have been caused by work taking place at the Kent Elms junction and no changes should be made until after it is completed.

Councillor Mark Flewitt said: “It is not easy but the residents need to stick with it and see how the outcome of Kent Elms goes. I understand resident frustration but as a committee we have got to think of the bigger picture.”