Solution to McDonald's queues could be in sight

Dangerous queueing for McDonald's at the Rush Green roundabout could become a thing of the past if proposals submitted to the District Council are given the go-ahead.

The fast food chain has submitted a planning application to realign the junction and introduce an additional lane for vehicles using the drive-though service.

The junction is regularly blocked by vehicles queueing on the roundabout, despite the stretch of road being designated an urban clearway.

Local residents held a protest in 2019 at the danger to traffic and lack of action by Hertfordshire County Council.

The proposals would see the junction moved a few metres south and an additional queueing lane introduced.

Comments on social media have been sceptical, with many people suggesting the limited changes will not fully address the issue.

This is a case of ‘moving the problem and not solving it’. As a resident of foxholes, exiting that roundabout at peaks times is a dangerous affair , the left hand lane becomes a queue, the right hand lane is trying to get somewhere and then more traffic is flying around the roundabout and trying to join the queue on the left hand side.

Pressure needs to be put on HCC to come up with an actual solution rather than fob residents off with this.

It’s going to improve the situation a bit but not fix the problem.

In a letter accompanying the planning application, consultants for McDonald's say: "The proposed highway improvements are the result of a long process of discussion and negotiation with the Hertfordshire Highway Authority since 2018 to improve the access to the restaurant and reduce the potential for queueing to occur on the roundabout."