Calls for 20mph zones across Trafford over safety…

Calls for 20mph zones across Trafford over safety fears for schoolchildren

Residents have called for a 20mph speed limit amid fears for the safety of schoolchildren in Trafford. The growing clamour for cutting the speed of motorists was evident for the second successive meeting of Trafford council where petitions in favour of slowing traffic have been presented and voiced.

Some 517 people signed the petition presented by Bridget Green citing the danger to children on South Downs Road an 'important route' which links Bowdon to the south of Hale. Addressing the full council meeting, Bridget said: "We want to improve the safety of this route for people on foot and on bikes, whether it is a parent walking young children to Bowdon Church School on Grange Road, a teenager riding a bike to Altrincham Grammar School for Boys on Marlborough Road, or a resident walking between the villages."

She asked for visible signs, widened pavements and changes to the road layout to get drivers to slow down as is the case at one such point in place towards the top of the road. She continued: "Local drivers are often very careful when using this road, particularly in the narrow, bendy section as it nears Hale. Here the road is not very wide for cars and the pavement is, at points, no more than two feet wide.

"So, if a parent and child are on the pavement, the driver will need to slow right down as they can’t take more road space in case a car or van is coming the other way." But she said that not all drivers are that slow or careful. "It is not uncommon to have an SUV partially over the white line in the middle of the road as it comes round a bend," she said. "Cyclists are overtaken on bends.

"I myself had an unpleasant experience walking back to Bowdon recently. I was approaching a bend on a narrow bit of pavement when a long commercial vehicle came around the corner too fast and its rear wheel mounted the kerb.

"I was on a two-foot stretch of pavement, with a stone wall at the side, and now a big fat tyre was taking some of my space. I flattened myself to the wall. It was very scary."

She said some pushchairs struggle with the narrow pavement, especially if there is another child walking beside the pushchair. "Older children, and parents with young children, should be able to walk to school," she said.

"People who chose to walk have a right to safe walking routes. This road is dangerous and, frankly, I can understand why a parent might prefer to drive their child to school as the safer option.

"But, we also have a major problem with congestion in this area at school drop off and pick up times. As a resident on Grange Road, I can be stuck in stationary traffic for 10 minutes if I arrive home at 3pm."

She said the only way to solve all this congestion was to encourage more children to walk and ride their bikes to school. "And, of course, they need safe routes to do that," she said. "More active travel gives us less congestion and happier local residents, less air pollution, and healthier children."

Responding, council leader Coun Andrew Western said the request and the petition were 'not unreasonable'. "I know this location very well," he said. But he went on: "The council has limited funding for the implementation of 20mph zones, so this will be assessed alongside all of the other requests that we've received and a decision will be taken on the basis of need as determined by our engineering specialists."

At the prior council meeting, residents of New Street in Altrincham presented a petition also asking for a 20mph zone. The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats meanwhile have called for 20mph zones to be implemented in all residential areas across Trafford.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here