MAPPLEWELL business owners have called for urgent action to be taken before a pedestrian gets ‘seriously hurt’ after a bollard was struck by a recovery van at a busy junction.
On Wednesday at around 2.45pm, one of the safety bollards on Blacker Road was hit by a recovery vehicle that was turning right towards Greenside.
The bollard was completely dislodged causing it to be knocked across the village’s centre and out of position.
This comes following a similar incident in November after two bollards were hit by HGVs.
Local councillors and business owners have urged Barnsley Council to take immediate action in repairing and improving the road bollards before a similar incident happens again.
Coun Steve Hunt, who represents the Darton East ward, has raised his concerns with both the council and its highways department.
He told the Chronicle: “I received a call from a local business owner on Wednesday informing me that one of the bollards had been struck by a recovery vehicle on Blacker Road.
“I am very disappointed that the council do not seem to have a plan to deal with this problem which has been an ongoing issue since the improvement works were carried out in Mapplewell village in 2018.
“There is a serious health and safety issue with the bollards on this section of Blacker Road which need to be urgently addressed by Barnsley Council.”
After residents reported a series of other near-misses, Coun Hunt contacted highways in a bid to get replaced or repaired bollards on the stretch of road.
“I wrote a letter to highways raising my concerns regarding the likelihood that the bollards could be hit again.
“This is not the first time that bollards on this side of Blacker Road have been hit by vehicles turning up Greenside since the new village improvement works completed.
“There is a clear risk to pedestrians if this was to happen again.
“Myself, residents and businesses are worried that if no permanent solution is found to this problem, then the village will continue to have a missing bollard which will negate a lot of the aesthetic improvement which this scheme was meant to achieve.”
Coun Chris Lamb, cabinet spokesperson for place, environment and transportation said: “In the year 2000, the council introduced a 20mph speed limit on Blacker Road and surrounding streets, and there are additional traffic calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds.
“We have a road safety budget to address safety concerns which is used to target sites on a worst first basis.
“Sites are identified using Personal Injury Collision (PIC) data obtained by South Yorkshire Police using its collision reporting system, and based on this data, Blacker Road has not been identified for further measures.
“All too often a minority of drivers choose to drive in excess of the speed limit.
“This is defined as a moving traffic offence and can only be enforced by South Yorkshire Police.”
