‘Traffic lights would be the best solution’
Junction concerns raised once again
CONCERNS have been raised once again over the notorious Iveshead Road, Charley Road junction after it saw two incidents just before Christmas.
Shepshed county councillor, Coun Christine Radford says that traffic lights would be ideal for the crossroads, or even a traffic roundabout.
However Leicestershire County Council, which has implemented a number of safety changes on the road over the last couple of years, including the reduction of the speed limit, new signs and rumble strips, says it is too early to gauge their effectiveness.
However it did say: “We will monitor the junction over the coming months to see if there’s anything else that can be done.”
The December incidents saw one vehicle ending up down the bank and on its roof, after a two-vehicle collision on the 10th.
One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The second incident was another collision on December 21, which saw two ambulances treating people at the scene.
Coun Radford told the Echo that she was frustrated with the whole situation and feels that there was a chance lost to get money for extra road safety measures through planning conditions, when permission was granted for housing development on Iveshead Road previously.
She said of the junction: “If you come from the direction of the windmill, you can’t see left. You can’t see cars coming.
“It’s big enough to have a roundabout. Traffic lights would be ideal.”
Coun Radford acknowledged the work that the county council has already carried out on the road to reduce speed and prevent accidents, and said that she knew the authority was monitoring the situation.
In the aftermath of the latest incidents many people in the area took to social media with some suggesting that the line of the road should be perhaps altered.
A Leicestershire county council spokesperson said: “Since 2016, a number of safety measures have been introduced, including additional signage, road surface improvements, installing rumble strips and a speed reduction to 50mph.
“We’re aware of the concerns about this part of the road network, in particular an increase in traffic caused by roadworks carried out on the M1. “
“While we welcome any traffic calming suggestions which come forward, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the safety measures already put in place, although there are early indications that the number of recorded injury accidents has reduced.”
The council also said: “Between June 2016 and July 2017 there were eight recorded injury accidents.
“The package of improvements was largely completed in late 2017, with the carriageway surface improvements completed in May 2018. Between 2014 and July 2017, in total there were a total of 18 recorded injury accidents.”