It has been almost a year since Ipswich residents raised the issue of lifesaving services not being aware of traffic barriers on Jovian Way. 

In August 2022, residents saw an ambulance turning around after coming across the barrier and raised concerns that emergency services were not aware of the no-through route and that it was not displayed on Google. 

Ipswich Star: The incident from 2022: ambulance had to turn around as the driver was not aware of the barriers, Michael Marron The incident from 2022: ambulance had to turn around as the driver was not aware of the barriers, Michael Marron (Image: Michael Marron)

Now there has been fresh concerns after a similar incident was reported just a few days ago. 

On July 16, a resident witnessed ambulances and first response vehicles having to turn around on Jovian Way and feared they may have lost valuable time. 

The planters were installed in 2021 following consultation with residents who complained about drivers who had been using the street as a rat run to avoid the often-busy Sproughton Road and to shop in nearby Morrisons and Aldi stores. 

Last year, Suffolk County Council and the East of England Ambulance Service responded to the concerns and confirmed that during the implementation of the planters, all emergency services were informed that Jovian Way was a no-through route. 

Ipswich Star: Planters on Jovian Way, NewsquestPlanters on Jovian Way, Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesman from Suffolk County Council Highways said at the time: "In February 2021 Suffolk County Council wrote to residents and invited them to complete a survey to ask for their feedback on the proposal to implement the Experimental Motor Traffic Restriction and we will continue to engage with them. 

"Following on from the feedback, the Experimental Motor Traffic Restriction was implemented in April 2021. All emergency services were informed as part of the legal process. 

"We are aware that Google Maps are not highlighting the restriction and we have written to them to request their maps to be updated." 

Ipswich Star: Planters on Jovian Way, NewsquestPlanters on Jovian Way, Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

Following the latest concerns, a spokesman said: "The ambulance service was contacted as part of the statutory consultation process for the traffic order.  

"Updates on the closure will be communicated to residents and all stakeholders in the coming weeks and also shared via our Suffolk Highways social media channels. 

"We will be contacting Google to request the update." 

This paper has contacted Google, whose spokesman said they will investigate the issue 'as soon as possible'. 

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We are aware that there is no through road on Jovian Way in Ipswich following the installation of the barriers. We have reminded all crews that there is no through road on Jovian Way.

"We constantly update our knowledge of the roads systems across the six counties in our region to take account of permanent and temporary road closures and other issues with access. 

"There can be a number of reasons why apparently closed roads are not indicated on GPS mapping - frequently this is because the roads have not been permanently closed with permanent closure orders. 

"This can require manual amends to be made to our computerised mapping system.”