SOUTH Yorkshire Police will carry out speed checks in a bid to slow down traffic at an accident blackspot.
Burton Road, between Cudworth and Monk Bretton, which has been the subject of two Barnsley Council-commissioned road safety surveys this year, will be visited by Royston-based officers for a Christmas clampdown after residents complained about the local authority’s decision not to introduce traffic calming measures along the road.
Highways officers ruled out any remedial work such as crash barriers or chicanes as they said Burton Road did not make its ‘worst-first’ list.
But now fresh hope has been given to residents along both Burton Road and West Green Avenue, a small street which runs adjacent and has been the site of a series of crashes throughout 2017.
Temporary Sergeant Jason Pearson told the Chronicle: “We can’t be everywhere but we will juggle resources around and make sure Burton Road is visited in the coming weeks.
“Statistics show that accidents along the road are happening around the same location and the last thing we want is a repeat. Driver error happens everywhere but speeding is clearly a factor.
“If anything our presence there will deter motorists from speeding and get the message out.”
A report compiled by the council was handed out to members of Cudworth’s PACT meeting last week, which revealed that average speeds of vehicles was recorded at 34.9mph along Burton Road, which has a 30mph limit, during the second survey.
However, the maximum speed recorded was 70.2mph, a figure which led police to allocate resources.
The report said: “The council monitors all personal injury collisions and each year a list of worst sites where people have been killed or seriously injured is produced.
“These locations are then prioritised and dealt with using the ‘three Es’ principle of education, engineering and enforcement. This approach is the policy of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, of which Barnsley is a member.
“Data from the last six years has been studied. The council is fulfilling its duty under the highways and road traffic acts and there are no highway infrastructure causation factors that could have contributed to the collisions on Burton Road.
“All the evidence shows that the collisions that have occurred are attributable to driver behaviour and this cannot be influenced by engineering measures. The council continues to monitor this locations in accordance with its statutory duties and current policy. To depart from this could be considered negligent.”
Coun Charlie Wraith added: “I was bitterly disappointed with the results of both surveys but both concluded that it was not down to the road’s layout and it was more to do with driver error.
“I wanted chicanes to be installed but they said it didn’t lend itself to that. People are unhappy about it as nothing has been done in the meantime, so having police there to check vehicles’ speeds will be well-received by everyone who has lodged concerns about Burton Road.
“It’s a crazy road for speeding and cars go like the absolute clappers.”
