Road used ‘like race track’ say angry residents

ACTION should be taken on a Nottinghamshire road which is used like a race track by “shocking” drivers, say residents.

People living around Plains Road in Mapperley claim some motorists speed down the road all week, causing raised fears that people could be injured.

They say the problem is particularly bad in evenings and at the weekend when witnesses have reported seeing vehicles race from sets of traffic lights to Arnold Lane.

Lester Woodward, 59, who lives near the traffic lights near the Co-op store, said: “Sometimes people come off the lights very quickly, usually at night when there’s less people around.

“They can get very fast down here because it’s a great big long road.

“But I think a problem is that the road surface is here is sometimes a bit questionable so you could easily have someone lose control at that speed.”

Maxime Millard, 51, who works as a landscape architect, said: “It is very dangerous doing what they’re doing. These are powerful cars being thrown about and they could hurt someone.

“It’s mainly young people and middle-aged men putting their foot down just because they can do it.

“There’s lots of children that walk down here to the nearby schools so it’s a risk for them and anyone else.

“We could really do with something to discourage it.”

Retiree Graham Finch, 73, said: “We could do with a police camera van here or a one of those slow down signals.

“Even when you take out the drivers racing there, people never do under 30mph here unless there’s traffic. In general everyone just speeds round here.

“It’s a busy road anyway but I’m concerned because at the end of the day this is a residential area, not a race track.”

Crystoffa Tsolakis, 79, who is retired and has lived on the road for 50 years, said it was the worst he had seen it since moving to Mapperley.

He said: “It is a busy road, fair enough, but people drive crazy down it. It is absolutely shocking.

“The way they all shoot down here at night is frightening. I cannot understand why people do it.”

Nottinghamshire Police said they had increased the number of patrols in the area in response to concerns about drivers.

Sergeant Rebecca O’connor, from the local neighbourhood policing team for Carlton and Porchester, said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns relating to the manner of driving by some people within the Carlton and Mapperley areas.

“While we have not received any reports of specific incidents, we are actively stepping up our patrols of the local areas and are working with local partners to monitor the situation.

“The neighbourhood policing team have been out over the last couple of weeks conducting speeding operations and issued a number of traffic offence reports.

“We want to reassure local residents and business community that we will be proactive in dealing with any offences in relation to the nuisance driving, taking action where necessary and providing visible deterrents to reduce the opportunities to break the law.”