Father wants action on ‘dangerous road’
L12-092 23/1/12 Scene of RTA ? Newlands Road, Luton. wk 4 SAS JX
A FATHER is concerned about a road on the outskirts of Luton where a fatal collision took place, calling it “dangerous”.
Newlands Road near Slip End was the scene of the accident which killed Sonya Gurney, 31, and left her sister in hospital fighting for her life on Saturday, January 21.
Nearby resident Ray Litchfield said there are several accidents every month, and that he worries for his children’s safety.
Mr Litchfield, who lives by Stockwood Park, said: “There is something wrong with that road. My daughter has rolled her car along it, when it was dry and she was under the speed limit. My car has gone sideways for no reason. Since Christmas there’s been about four crashes. I’ve lived in the park for 21 years and not a week goes by without something happening.”
The worried father said most of the golf club wall is missing as a result of all the crashes, and that he has seen many drivers involved in collisions on the road.
He said: “Something will happen again. I tell my children not to drive along it any more. It’s a dangerous road, there’s something wrong with it. I just wish something had been done sooner.”
Bedfordshire Police records show there were four incidents in which a car was damaged, three accidents where people were slightly injured and one fatal accident since January 1 2011.
According to website ‘Crash Map’, there were 16 accidents between 2008-2011.
Councillor Richard Stay said: “The junction onto the A1061 is notoriously bad, we have been seeking changes to that junction for a very long time. It’s used as a rat run when the M1 is busy and it’s heavily used during rush hour. It was resurfaced less than a year ago, but one of the downsides of resurfacing is it can make the road faster. If people have concerns about road safety I’m happy to listen to them if they’d like to contact me.”
A Central Beds spokesperson said: “Newlands Road itself crosses into and out of both Luton and Central Bedfordshire’s area. The information we have places the recent fatality within Luton Borough Council’s boundary and this appears to be confirmed by key accident records held by Beds Police.
Central Bedfordshire’s Highways contractor Amey will review the collision data as part of the annual database analysis which will be starting soon.”
A Luton Borough Council spokesperson said: “This is a query for Central Beds.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
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