Safety plan for accident blackspot
3:05pm Tuesday 20th February 2007 in Your Town By Anna Youssef
AN accident blackspot is to be given a £25,000 safety boost.
New traffic management measures will be introduced on Dicconson Lane, Westhoughton, in a bid to cut the number of accidents.
The move has been welcomed by residents and local councillors, who have been campaigning for action.
Between January 2001 and October 2006, three people, including two children, were killed in accidents on the road.
In total, during that period, there were 14 reported accidents on the road that caused injury, resulting in 33 casualties, of which five were serious and 25 were slight.
Residents have claimed motorists speed round the rural road's dangerous bends and have branded the route a "death trap".
Council highways chiefs have now drawn up a scheme that will see improved speed limit signs, hatched markings, new cycle lanes and parking bays and ripple print surfacing installed, which causes a vehicle to vibrate if the driver is going too fast.
Cllr Jim Gilfillan, Westhoughton Town Council leader, said: "These measures have been a long time coming.
"Too many people have died on the road and it is about time that significant improvements to safety were made."
A council spokesman said: "Following concerns raised about Dicconson Lane, a scheme has been drawn up aimed at reducing vehicle speeds and the incidence and severity of accidents.
"We consulted with local residents in October 2006 and more than three-quarters are in favour of the proposals, which will now be considered by the executive member for environmental services."
If approval is given, the £25,000 scheme will start early March and should take four weeks to finish.
