Residents win speeding battle at accident blackspot

Mar 12 2008 by Staff Reporter, Hoylake and West Kirby News

RESIDENTS have won a battle to lower speed restrictions at a notorious Wirral accident black spot.

Speeds along Telegraph Road and Column Road from Church Lane to Grange Cross Lane have been reduced from 50mph to 40mph from effect last Wednesday.

Drivers travelling along Column Road from Grange Cross Lane to Croome Drive must now slow down from 40mph to 30mph. The previous 50mph speed limit in Thurstaston Road from Telegraph Road has also been reduced to 40mph.

It follows a two-year campaign by residents to improve road safety in an area which has seen a spate of fatal crashes.

The most recent involved an elderly woman from Hoylake who died in a head-on collision near the Cottage Loaf pub in December.

West Kirby and Thurstaston councillor David Elderton, who presented petitions to Wirral Council, welcomed the changes.

He said: “Residents have been alarmed by the number of deaths, near-misses and damage to property that regularly occur along this stretch.

“I am pleased that the council has responded to people’s concerns.”

Pedestrian traffic islands and cycle lanes have also been incorporated into the scheme to act as additional traffic calming measures as part of a borough-wide initiative.

However, plans for the long-awaited roundabout at the junction of Station Road and Irby Road still hang in the balance.

Pauline Fielding, of Mersey action group Roadpeace, said: “Speed restrictions are a start, but a roundabout is crucial as visibility is very bad edging out of Station Road. Cyclists and horse riders use this area – it’s a busy and dangerous junction.”

The roundabout scheme was approved in 2003 but Wirral Council has reached an impasse with one landowner.

A spokesman for the council said: “We have made some progress having secured three out of four land sites in principle. But unfortunately the scheme is still in a state of limbo.”