SOME while ago Stockton Lane in Stockton Heath was closed to traffic permanently after a tragic accident in which two teenagers drowned when the car they were in plunged into the Bridgewater canal.
While regrettable though this incident was, the accident could probably have been prevented if crash barriers had been installed as had been suggested. In fact, barriers have not been erected since then, even though residents could experience the same fate.
As a frequent user of this road, this was an accident waiting to happen.
Does this mean that all roads that experience such accidents should close?
The new sports centre on Stockton Lane means that a lot more traffic has to use just one exit out of the lane which itself has a dangerous bend and no barrier.
Another accident waiting to happen is on Broad Lane, Grappenhall, where the derestricted speed limit means that vehicles speed down the winding road at well over 50mph. There is no pavement either.
Contrast this with a very similar road in Hatton where a 40mph speed limit has recently been introduced. I suggest that the council re-opens Stockton Lane with the barriers erected and imposes a suitable speed limit on Broad Lane.
Failure to do so would mean that the authorities – whoever they are – will one day have more blood on their hands because of their inertia.
PAUL BROADBENT Grappenhall
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