Residents have spoken of their fear over a major road in south Manchester that's "too dangerous" to let children play near after four serious incidents on the street in less than six weeks.
Hyde Road has been the site of four serious police incidents since the start of June, which have left multiple people injured, with a 23-year-old man losing his life in a collision earlier this week. Now, residents have spoken about their fears around the road, and elected officials have urged for action to be taken to improve the safety of the route to prevent another tragedy.
The Manchester Evening News has spoken to several local residents after the incidents in recent weeks, including a woman who refuses to let her children play outside anymore because the area is simply "too dangerous". She believes the road has been particularly dangerous since it was widened last year, opening up from two lanes of traffic into four.
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She said: "Since they widened the carriageway it's been such a bad road. People go really fast down there and there's so many crashes. An 11-year-old boy was knocked down just down the road last month. We can't let our kids play out on this [side] road anymore, it's just too dangerous."
Another neighbour said he refused to walk down the road after 11pm anymore due to the number of speeding cars in the area. He said: "People use this road like a race track, I try to avoid walking down Hyde Road after 11pm at night, it's appalling."
A man who works at a car wash beside the point where a teenager was hit by a van on Thursday afternoon, July 14, said: “This road is so dangerous and always so busy. People still often think there are two lanes and try and overtake but go into oncoming traffic. We hear horns all the time it’s so dangerous.”
Since the start of June, there have been four serious incidents on Hyde Road. They are:
- A two car crash near Debdale Park at around 2.30pm on June 5, which saw seven people checked out by paramedics, with two people suffering minor injuries and two people taken to hospital.
- A hit and run crash at around 1.30pm on June 26, with an 11-year-old boy taken to hospital with serious injuries, a 33-year-old man was arrested and released on bail.
- A Range Rover crashed into a telephone mast at around 2.50am on July 12, the 23-year-old passenger of the car was killed in the collision and two others, the driver and a second passenger of the car, were taken to hospital. A 23-year-old woman, believed to be the driver of an Audi A3 involved in the collision, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and a 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice. Both were released on bail.
- A van hit a 13-year-old girl at around 3.15pm on July 14, with the girl being taken to hospital with injuries that are not considered to be life-threatening.
Following the tragic death of the 23-year-old man earlier this week, local representatives renewed their call for the speed limit to be reduced on part of Hyde Road, and for more enforcement in the area. When asked about the issues of speeding drivers earlier this week, Coun Julie Reid told the Manchester Evening News : "I think it's a massive problem. Not just on Hyde Road but on all the other arterial roads heading into Manchester.
"Where drivers come off a motorway they get used to the speed and just don't slow down. I think behaviour has changed, the issue has got worse since Covid. I have definitely seen more reckless driving. You can put in all the measures in the world but we need drivers to help us and drive properly and according to the road and conditions."
Coun Reid said she was "shocked, horrified and upset" to learn of the recent tragedy, and has been campaigning alongside her fellow representatives for Gorton and Abbey Hey, Coun John Hughes, and Coun Afia Kamal, for some time to have the safety of Hyde Road improved. Alongside local MPs, like Gorton's Afzal Khan and Denton and Reddish's Andrew Gwynne, the trio have been pushing for the speed limit to be reduced down to 30mph across the entire stretch of Hyde Road, similar to the changes made to Princess Parkway.
There are also concerns about enforcement of the limit, with the group calling for speed cameras to be installed near Debdale Park. The group regularly meet with both Tameside and Manchester City Councils and work with the police in order to improve awareness and discuss new measures which could help make the area safer for road users. Councillors, council officers, police, and members of the public had planned to be out with speed guns today, July 15, as part of a pre-planned operation, but this has been temporarily postponed as a mark of respect to the man tragically killed in Tuesday's crash.
A statement issued today on behalf of all local representatives involved in campaigning read: "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have sadly died in accidents on Hyde Road, as well as the people who have been injured. It has been clear for some time that serious intervention is required on Hyde Road to stop excessive speed and dangerous driving.
"The local Gorton and Abbey Hey councillors have taken a strong lead on this. Together with Afzal Khan MP and Andrew Gwynne MP, we’ve met with Manchester City Council, Tameside Council and Greater Manchester Police to demand action. It is time that both local authorities and the police move quickly before anyone else is injured or killed.”
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