Slingsby resident launches A64 blackspot safety campaign (From Gazette & Herald)

Slingsby resident launches A64 blackspot safety campaign

2:37pm Wednesday 1st July 2009

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THE latest crash at an accident blackspot on the A64 near Malton has prompted a local resident to launch a safety campaign.

The Gazette & Herald reported recently how a woman had a lucky escape when her car collided with another vehicle and burst into flames. She suffered a broken wrist in the crash, which happened on a dual carriageway section at the junction with the road to Castle Howard.

The stretch of road is notoriously dangerous, with cars on the eastbound carriageway coming over the brow of a hill shortly before the junction, where other vehicles are trying to cross the road to reach a gap in the central reservation before joining the westbound carriageway.

Now Phil Collings, who owns a cottage at Slingsby, has contacted the Gazatte & Herald to say he can no longer stand by and let someone die in a crash.

“This junction has concerned me greatly and I coincidentally passed the scene at the time of the accident, and made a decision to do something about this horrific junction before it claims another life,” he said.

“I thought it might have been a fatal accident and if safety isn’t improved, I fear it’s only a matter of time before there is one.”

He said motorists had very little time to get to the gap before vehicles came over the brow of the hill and were upon them. In some cases, cars did not go far enough into the gap, leaving the back end sticking out into the outside lane of the dual carriageway, with motorists having to swerve to avoid hitting them.

Mr Collings said he planned to launch a petition, both online and on paper, calling on the Highways Agency to take urgent steps to improve safety for motorists at the blackspot.

He said that while a flyover might be too expensive and impracticable, other measures could be taken – for example, a 50mph limit enforced by cameras as vehicles came over the brow of the hill.

Another option would be to close that gap and use another one a couple of hundred metres further along the road, which would give vehicles coming over the brow of the hill much longer to see other vehicles trying to get through to the gap.

He said he would be publicising details of the petition and how to sign it shortly, but anyone wanting to give their views should email him on a64safetycampaign@hotmail.co.uk

Highways Agency ‘aware of concern’

THE Highways Agency said today it was aware of local concerns about the junction and it had already been looking at possible improvements.

“However, until we look at the project in more detail we cannot say exactly what would be done, but we are examining issues such as improving signage and road markings,” said a spokeswoman.

“Any improvements have to demonstrate good value for the taxpayer. If we were successful in bidding for funds from the Highways Agency regional fund, work could start as early as the next financial year.”

She added that improvement of the junction to the east had been suggested before, but it was considered unlikely it would be feasible on financial grounds.

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