Following an increase in collisions and near misses at the slip road exits from the A500 where it meets on Alsager Road, the Parish Council sent a letter on 2nd June 2025 (copied to Adam Jogee MP and Staffs County Highways) to raise concerns with officers at National Highways who are responsible for the A500. The letter was backed up with supporting evidence from Staffordshire Police with photos of the collisions and asked for an immediate safety audit and improvements.
The following response was received from National Highways on 8th July 2025 :
“I’d like to reassure you that safety is our first priority, and we routinely monitor safety across the strategic road network to identify locations where improvements are required.
We’re aware that ongoing works on the A500 west of junction 16 may be contributing to queuing on the westbound approach, prompting some drivers to divert via the Audley junction to bypass congestion. To ensure the route is clear and safe for all road users, we’ve carried out an inspection this morning to confirm that signage and road markings are clearly visible.
During our inspection, we found that all signage on the slip roads is clean, legible, and unobstructed by vegetation. Road markings on the northbound exit are in good condition. We’re aware of the faded markings on the southbound exit slip and will continue to monitor them until they’re scheduled to be refreshed. In the meantime, ‘No Road Markings’ signs have been deployed to alert drivers. Additionally, the road surface on both slip roads is in good condition.
As vehicles approach the give way point on the exit slip roads, they should naturally be decelerating. To support this, the current layout includes advance ‘SLOW’ markings, give way lines with triangle markings, and two ‘Give Way’ signs positioned on both the nearside and offside. This level of signage and road marking is sufficient to provide drivers with the necessary information to navigate the junction safely. However, it appears that the recent incidents may be attributed to poor driver behaviour, such as failing to slow down or give way appropriately, rather than deficiencies in the road layout itself.
We’ve included this location in our future schemes for potential design and delivery in the Roads Investment Period 3 (2026–2031). However, as a publicly funded organisation, we’re required to prioritise resources and investments where the need is most urgent, so we can’t currently confirm what, if any, improvements will be made”.
“On 24 July, our Route Manager and Engineering Team Manager met with Staffordshire Police at the A500 junction. During the site visit, it was noted that motorists are generally braking appropriately and stopping at the junction in accordance with the signage. However, according to the police collisions appear to be occurring as vehicles pull away from the slip road onto Alsager Road.
While we’re confident that the current road layout, signage, and road markings are clear and not misleading, following our discussions with the police regarding the injury collisions reported so far in 2025, we’ve requested that they share the details of these incidents so we can analyse the causation factors and assess whether any patterns or trends are emerging. Once we’ve received and reviewed the collision data, our Route Manager, will be happy to provide you with an update.”
We have been informed that all partner agencies are working together to achieve better road safety at this junction.