One of our Queen Edith’s councillors, George Pippas, has been in touch to draw local residents’ attention to an accident blackspot in a fairly unlikely place, the corner of Luard Road and Sedley Taylor Road. Apparently any ice on the road here does not melt easily, catching both car drivers and cyclists unaware. Councillor Pippas has met a representative from the County Council and was told that this has been the site of regular accidents over many years.
“On the morning of Wednesday 7th December”, he tells us, “at least five people came off their bicycles and one required an ambulance. On other frosty mornings it is a regular occurrence for cars to skid, frequently damaging their wheels. There is increasing vehicle traffic on this ‘rat run’, as well as many cyclists, who include students attending the Perse School, Hills Road and Long Road sixth form colleges, and Homerton College, as well as healthcare workers making their way to Addenbrookes.
“It can only be a matter of time”, continues Councillor Pippas, “before there is a serious injury or worse on this corner. We all agreed that this corner was the site of repeated accidents and required urgent attention. It was suggested that the council should undertake to keep the salt bins, which were donated last year by the contractors building the new pavilion on the sixth form playing fields on the side road leading to 1 and 2 Sedley Taylor Road, and that these should be regularly topped up by the council to allow local residents to voluntarily apply salt to the road.
“In addition, the central white line in the road should be repainted, and urgent consideration should be given to upgrading the roads to ‘level 1’ status for gritting. We understand that they are currently level 2. Traffic calming measures such as those further up each road could be inserted in both roads close to the corner, to make cars brake before they get to the icy corner, and there ought to be a notice warning motorists that this is a slippery corner.
“If we generate awareness of the problem we will raise its profile on the list of the Council’s priorities”, says the councillor. “This will help us implement a swift and permanent remedial solution. Our County Councillor, Amanda Taylor has obtained the prices for installing traffic calming measures: speed cushions are ?5,000 a pair and carriageway buildouts (which make the road narrower) are ?2-3,000”.
If you know anyone who uses this route, please be sure to send them this article.