‘Stop cut-through drivers’
RESIDENTS SAY SPEEDING CARS USE THEIR STREET AS A RAT-RUN TO AVOID JUNCTION
A ROAD that connects two busy city routes has become a hotspot for speeding drivers wanting to cut through, residents have said.
Burnham Street in Sherwood joins Haydn Road at one end and Mansfield Road on the other, and residents say it is used regularly by motorists wanting to avoid traffic lights.
Instead of using the signalled junction that connects Haydn and Mansfield Road, which at peak times can become busy, cars often “well in excess of the speed limit” use Burnham Street instead.
Concerns were raised as Nottingham City Council revealed proposals for its Active Travel Scheme to improve roads around the city.
One scheme in particular focuses on the Sherwood and Berridge areas, with plans to bring in measures to prevent roads being used as cut-throughs. Burnham Street is not one of the proposed roads to receive changes, but residents feel it would benefit from parking permits or a one-way system.
Speaking to the Post, emergency worker Taylor Heaton, 31, said: “It’s definitely used as a cut-through and people drive well in excess of the speed limit (20mph bumps).
“Maybe one-way would be better. When I’m trying to get the kids out of the car you realise how fast people are going and it’s difficult. It’s probably got worse over that time as well.
“At rush hour, traffic backs up towards the city and people use with speed Burnham instead of waiting.”
Joel Ohare, 18, who works at a restaurant, said: “It is bad for people cutting through – they just want to bypass the traffic lights, but because of how narrow it is, people get stuck down here.
Retired lorry driver Brian, 80, who did not wish to use his last name, said: “I’ve been here nearly 30 years and people drive through all the time to miss those traffic lights.
“It should be residents parking only and one-way, because it’s busy all day and the speed bumps don’t do anything. It has definitely got worse over the years.”
The proposals under consultation are:
■ Permanent closure of Victoria Embankment to through traffic
■ 20mph speed limit in city centre.
■ Measures at several locations in Sherwood and Berridge and in the Arboretum to deter cutthrough traffic.
■ Measures to improve road safety and pedestrian and cycle links in Derby Road, and on Low Wood Road
■ Improvements to pedestrian and cycle routes in St Ann’s Well Road
■ Permanent school streets schemes across the city. People need to respond by Friday, April 2 at https://keepnottinghammoving.commonplace.is/ overview. Responses will be reviewed, with further opportunities to comment before changes are delivered later this year.
It’s busy all day and the speed bumps don’t do anything. It has definitely got worse over the years
Brian, 80