Safe Speed Forums

FYI this road is being re-engineered. Works start (I think) next month.

I think I read that in the Manchester press... after yet another incident there.

I hope they do engineer out the "problem" there. Both my sisters and their husbands found it safe enough with their COAST led approach but admitted there could be a "runaway" situation for the novices. I wonder how they willl tackle the gradient and straighten that bend at the Europa Estate.

I can only hope with you and PoD that they get it right this time.

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Not much to engineer out IMO. Steep hill leading to a sharp bend. Lots of houses in the way, can't demolish them. No room for central reservation. Pedestrian railings just make cars feel safer and drive faster.

My idea would be to stick a patrol car at the corner on the odd occasion. Trouble is, they're thin on the ground. I wonder why.

Bet they'll just put a speed camera there instead.

I hate to say it, but this may be one of the rare occasions where a speed camera would be justified:

As I understand it there is a long downhill straight before this tight corner, so there would be plenty of time to see the camera, and get on the brakes in a controlled manner. If the camera was placed correctly then there would be insufficient hill remaining to accelerate to dangerous speeds before the bend.

This may even be an eligible site for a scamera, since there have obviously been fatal accidents, though it would clearly not generate much revenue, since apparently anyone going much over the speed limit wipes out on this corner (per an extrapolation of the 85th %ile principal), and as such there would be little incentive for the scameraship.

That said, I still feel this is a blunt instrument approach to the problem, necessitated only by the fact that the apparently enclosed location leaves little room for engineering. Rumble strips would be unlikely to reign in the small minority of nutters who seem to take this bend too quickly, but I would favour even speed bumps over a scamera. Perhaps a chicane would achieve the desired effect, and could at least take out some speed if someone ploughed through it too fast, before they hit the pavement!

Bear in mind that I am only going from photos and text accounts of the site, and am kind of thinking aloud here, please feel free to pick fault with my suggestions and suggest alternatives!!

You're probably right - a speed camera half way down the road before the bridge going down the hill would be suitable. No need for anything the other way.

This would stop people accelerating up to 40-50 (as many currently do) and then getting caught out by the bend (of which there is adequate warning signage)

The problem is the wide road and the hill with few lateral hazards which no doubt encourages people to gun it. Possibly narrowing the road with some hatching and installing some bollard islands would help also (as it's a SC anyway and any overtaking here would be ridiculous)

http://tinyurl.com/yjwv5c

(The road in question is the A667)

What is the 'L' shaped building opposite Bridge St?

The bend looks like a gentle left, lulling you before a sharper right, quite a lethal combination which would clearly benefit more from engineering than enforcement, though as mentioned previously, space constrains.

The hill is quite steep. Note that the accident mentioned in this thread occured heading west, not east.

Heading downhill, to get around the left hander you have to slow down a fair bit. I don't see many motorists rocketing down here, its not the kind of road where one would feel safe doing it. So, you slow down and get around the first corner. Instantly you're hit with houses, shops, pedestrians (there are schools here), and lots and lots of parked cars. You'd have to be a complete idiot to come a cropper on the second bend.

The real danger is not the hill, or the bend. The danger is the straight road heading east/west here

Its a lovely smooth road, reasonably wide, and deceptive. Lots of people drive fast down it, and thats where its not safe. Thats where you're going to have an accident if anywhere.

I should also mention that the train bridge has a height restriction, and lorries often drive down the centre of the road to be safe when going underneath it.

Oh, and the twisty bit of road over the river to the east is a great bit of road to drive on

The 40mph bit? Why? It's got one corner, then it drops to a 30 going down Ringley Rd towards Philips Park.

You really need to get over this obsession with speed. Since when was speed a prerequisite to enjoying a road? Where did I suggest that speed was the essence of enjoying it?

Honestly. :/

That changes everything. Perhaps a pelican crossing in place of the zebra would be more appropriate then.

Why exactly do you like it then? It's effectively a straight with a sharp left turn then enters a pile of traffic calming measures.

No its not actually. Its a steep uphill wide road with good visibility to begin with, lovely scenery, with a couple of nice kinks to keep you occupied, before dropping back down in both height and speed into a 30mph zone.

Thats why I like it. Try driving it and you'll see.