DANGEROUS, ill thought out, a farce and a misery, are just some of the terms used to describe the A3 traffic lights at Hindhead.

The latest barrage of criticism has come from Ferris Cowper, local resident and East Hampshire district councillor for Grayshott.

In a letter to Highways Agency chief executive Tim Matthews, Mr Cowper has said that a succession of controversial alterations to the road layout and traffic lights system has caused Òvery great distress and dissatisfactionÓ to local people.

ÒIt seems that no matter what is done, each alteration makes the situation worse for those of us who have no choice but to use this junction to go about our daily lives,Ó Mr Cowper said. ÒIt is turning rapidly from a farce into a misery.Ó

In additional comments to The Herald, Mr Cowper has claimed that something must be done before the A3 becomes as Òimpenetrable as the Berlin WallÓ.

ÒThe problems seem to be accelerating and IÕm not sure the tunnel is going to be in time to avoid total gridlock here,Ó he said.

ÒLocal people suffer these ill thought out schemes twice a day, or more, every day of every week of every year.Ó

Motorists had now become so frustrated that they were risking their lives by breaking the law, he claimed.

ÒThere has been a frightening increase in the amount of Òred light jumpingÓ, especially southbound in the evening rush hour, as impatient motorists delayed by the unpopular single carriageway scheme, the new phasing and the tight left turn towards Haslemere, vent their frustrations by driving across the ÔstopÕ light,Ó Mr Cowper said.

ÒThis is not just illegal, it is dangerous and leads to repeated blocking of the junction, preventing traffic from turning right towards Haslemere from the south in the very small window of time that is permitted under the current phasing.Ó

Among the other complaints he lists are a massive increase in southbound queues when the carriageway north of the junction was reduced from two lanes to one.

Regular extension of waiting times and queue lengths for eastbound and westbound traffic is another difficulty.

ÒAs the phasing of the light changes is tinkered with time and time again, there have been progressively worsening effects to Farnham bound and Haslemere bound traffic,Ó he said.

Mr Cowper describes the road alterations made to accommodate the TyndallÕs Pine development on the former Happy Eater site as Òhighly unpopularÓ.

ÒThe poorly designed attempt to improve the turn for heavy goods vehicles from the southbound carriageway towards Haslemere has meant that the new barrier continues to be knocked over frequently as these large vehicles still cannot make that turn safely,Ó he said.

Mr Cowper feels that the time has come to consult with local residents about the short-term future for the junction.

ÒIÕm sure that we could help the Highways Agency engineers come up with better schemes than those that infuriate us all today,Ó he said.

The councillor has suggested Grayshott Village Hall as a venue. Last year the hall hosted a public meeting that saw hundreds of residents turn out to air their views on the £110 million tunnel scheme.