IMMEDIATE action is being called for to help reduce danger on a stretch of road notorious for serious crashes after another collision occurred at a fatal crossroads.
The A616 at Crow Edge has a history of incidents between two sets of crossroads on the boundary between Barnsley and Kirklees, through to the Lee Lane junction.
The latest happened last month - when a Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen T-Roc collided - near where a father and son, Mackenzie and Christopher Mellor, died in 2019.
Coun Allen Pestell, chairman of Dunford Parish Council, pinpointed other blackspots along the A616 - such as the Victoria crossroads - where he said there have also been fatalities.
“There are cottages on the Cumberworth side and people park on the road instead of on their own land,” said Coun Pestell.
“This creates a blindspot - people can’t see anything as they approach.
“The speed limit should be 30mph, not 60mph, coming from Victoria to slow people down.”
A total of £15.4m will be spent on a host of road schemes in 2021/22 by Barnsley Council, but local councillors have also been encouraged to put forward routes forward which garner complaints from residents in each ward.
Under the proposed neighbourhood road safety initiative, a one-off investment of £90,000, over and above the annual road safety budget, will be made available for a series of preventative schemes to address concerns raised within communities.
The full list of worst-first roads have been revealed, which includes nearby A629 Copster Lane, but so far the A616 has missed out.
A council report said: “A traffic regulation order (TRO) review paper was presented to cabinet outlining the current demand, the gaps in knowledge and awareness and the financial and operational constraints that exist.
“A key finding of this report explored how the expectations of elected members and the public were aligned with the reality of delivering road safety interventions with reduced financial and operational resources.
“Following the report, a questionnaire was issued to all local members asking for feedback and comments on a range of TRO-related areas and a task and finish group, comprising elected members and officers, was established.
“The current method used to ascertain the ‘worst-first’ sites is by using personal injury collision (PIC) data obtained by South Yorkshire Police.
“This records information about the collision including time, date, location, weather and other causation factors that contributed to the collision.
“The data is analysed by staff to see if there are any concerns as to the frequency and nature of the collisions.
“All causation factors are thoroughly investigated and if necessary, any improvement works are programmed accordingly.
“The neighbourhood road safety initiative facilitates an expansion of the existing intervention criteria resulting in a response to community concerns regarding road safety that would not otherwise be met.”
Penistone West Coun Hannah Kitching told the Chronicle that action has to be taken on the A616.
She added: “It’s a constant issue that locals are well aware of.
“The local authority boundary literally runs down the middle of the A616 at Midhopestones, but it is managed by the Highways Agency rather than either of the local authorities’ highways teams.
“Speed limits change as it’s a busy stretch but we’re fully aware that speed is one of the main causes of collisions.
“However, another thing we need to look at is improved signage to alert motorists about the crossroads.
“We hear a lot about supposed ‘worst-first’ lists but anyone can see the A616 is something that needs addressing.”
