Staveley Road Resident Catalogues History of Crashes |
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Says series of collisions justifies barrier placed by council
A Staveley Road resident who has meticulously recorded crashes that have taken place outside her home is saying they justify the controversial measures being taken by the council. The diagonal barrier has led to a furious reaction from some, particularly residents of Park Road, but Jo Frost believes that it is entirely necessary describing it as the best thing that has ever happened on her road which she says was like a motorway before. She has been campaigning for year to have traffic reduced and slowed on her road and she believes the new measure has made it much safer for residents and children walking to Chiswick School as well as reducing pollution. She disputes the claim of Park Road residents that their road has become much busier as a result. Over the last few years, every time she has been at home when a crash has taken place outside, she has taken photos creating a record of some of the collisions that have occurred near the junction of Staveley Road and Park Road.
She says, “Since the new traffic measures have come into place on Staveley Road, the traffic on both Park Road and Staveley has reduced considerably and it has become a much safer, quieter and less polluted place to live. Cars used to drive down the road at sometimes over 60mph and with children walking and cycling to school it was only a matter of time before there was a fatality. I have seen three crashes in the last 2 years at the junction of Park Road and Staveley Road, the photos I’ve taken are just ones I’ve been witness to.”
Sam Hearn , Transport Spokesperson for the Conservative Councillors Group said, "For many years local residents and ward councillors have recognised that Staveley Road is a potentially dangerous street for all road users. It is long and wide when compared with most neighbouring streets and many drivers have used it as their preferred cut-through route from the A316 to A4. “The closure of Hammersmith Bridge has unfortunately diverted additional traffic on to the A316 and therefore Staveley Road. This has exacerbated the underlying problems. Over the years a number of traffic calming measures have been put in place in order to mitigate the impact of traffic volumes and speed. However, it has proved impossible to persuade Hounslow Council of the need to introduce any additional traffic calming measures such as speed cameras. As far as they are concerned the road accident statistics show that Staveley Road is a relatively safe street when compared with many others in the borough. “The imposition of a physical barrier across the junction of Staveley Road and Park Road as part of the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood scheme was intended to reduce the amount of traffic using this street as rat run. Anecdotally it has achieved that at least during the rather unusual period that we are living through. Unfortunately the displaced traffic has, as predicted, ended up on neighbouring streets whose residents are not surprisingly annoyed that they have not been consulted. “The proponents of the Staveley Road / Park Road barrier should be asking NOT whether the barrier has reduced the amount and speed of traffic on just one road BUT rather if it is the best all round solution to the underlying historic problems. For those with open minds there are other more flexible and effective options based on ANPR technology. Such solutions have been trialed in Brentford and will shortly be implemented on Hartington Road and Strand-on-the Green. Why not Staveley Road?" To have your say on any of Hounslow’s trial Streetspace schemes click on this link or email the transport team on traffic@hounslow.gov.uk.
November 22, 2020 |