SOMEONE needs to get hurt on Lyme’s congested roads before Dorset County Council takes any notice.

That is the claim from Lyme Regis town councillors, who have accused the county authority of not caring about the traffic chaos that is plaguing the town.

The town council has this week called on the county council to carry out a traffic management survey during this year’s busy summer season. They want to avoid the problems the resort suffered over the May bank holiday weekend, when several major events, the warm weather, loss of parking and scaffolding in Church Street all contributed to the congestion.

Coun Anita Williams, chairman of the town council’s planning and highways committee, said: “We need to push Dorset County Council for a proper traffic survey. Not piecemeal, not just Church Street – the whole lot.

“I want them to do the job properly. I want them to identify the risks. “They don’t want to do it because they know it’s difficult and they need to do it in the summer.

“They just don’t bother with us, they’re not interested.”

Coun Terry O’Grady added: “Unless someone gets hurt they won’t be interested.”

Councillors have been building up a catalogue of photographs of traffic congestion and plan to show them to the county council.

Coun Williams said: “We should be collecting photos and encouraging other people to do so. We need to show them these things. Maybe the council don’t know about them, or more likely, don’t care.”

Town councillors will also review all their outstanding traffic requests to the county council over the past three years.

One of the major trouble spots in the town is Church Street, where vehicles are frequently jammed and hit buildings.

Coun O’Grady said: “Someone’s going to get hurt in Church Street – we need to do something before that happens.”

Coun Jill Newton has come up with a new proposal for the street, which is only 12 feet wide in parts. She has suggested a third set of traffic lights – in addition to those at Long Entry and Coombe Street – to control the feed of vehicles into the bottleneck.

Coun Newton said: “As a council and a town, we should put all our energies behind sorting out Church Street as every year the dangers to people and property become greater.”

Councillors have also suggested hatched yellow boxes on the street and any drivers caught waiting in one would get a £130 fine.

“That is surely going to be a deterrent,” said Coun O’Grady.

There are concerns over how the traffic chaos will impact on the town’s tourism economy.

Coun Williams said: “Realistically we are 300 car parking spaces short and we will be for the next year while the coastal protection works are done. “That’s 300 cars that can’t park, that’s about 1,200 people who are not going to come to the town and for me, that’s a big deal.”

Matthew Piles, traffic manager at Dorset County Council, said: “There was undoubtedly severe traffic congestion during the weekend of the Fossil Festival and Bank Holiday. We are looking to meet with the town council and event organisers to advise on traffic management options during such busy periods, so we can work together to prevent such problems happening in the future.”