After spotting changes to Lytton Way's road layout this week, Stevenage residents have been asking why the alterations have been made.

Until the recent changes, the left-hand lane of the two main lanes was cordoned off by cones around the entrance and exit to the Tesco car park.

This effectively made it a filter lane for those exiting, rectifying a previous problem where drivers were struggling to exit the car park, causing long delays.

But that layout has all changed now, with cones removed from the main lane and added, instead, to the filter lane for those entering the car park.

This means that cars turning into the car park have to slow down while in the left-hand of the main two lanes, presumably in the hope that this will create gaps for drivers seeking to leave the car park and enter the same lane.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council told the Comet: “Following reports from drivers experiencing significant difficulties leaving Tesco car park, temporary traffic management was introduced and was widely accepted as improving the situation.

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"Last week the county council, in co-operation with Stevenage Borough Council, introduced the revised layout to help investigate a more permanent solution.

"This is a trial layout which will be closely monitored to establish if it provides similar results.”

In the long term, there are plans to ban cars from the section of Lytton Way running between the police station and Tesco, and make it accessible to buses and taxis only as part of Stevenage's ongoing regeneration.

A consultation earlier this year found that 48 per cent of respondents supported the proposed change, which would see the road narrowed to create space for a public square, a new station entrance, and a new 'boulevard' running between the railway station and the town centre.