Safe Speed Forums

PLANS to install much-needed safety measures at a killer junction have been sensationally scrapped.
The Heartland Evening News can exclusively reveal that the Highways Agency has scrapped its plans to install an offline roundabout at the notorious Red Gate junction on the A5.
o Ignoring the voices of hundreds of concerned residents as well as that of leading political faces, the Highways Agency has decided not to go ahead with the plans to install an offline roundabout at the junction which has claimed many lives and caused a series of serious accidents over the past decade.
After pressure from a campaign launched by the Evening News in December 2005, the Highways Agency revealed in February 2006 that it would look at the best safety measures to try and reduce the increasing death and accident toll at the junction.
However, less than a year later, the Highways Agency has now withdrawn its plans, suggesting that there are projects elsewhere in the country more desperate for the funding.
The news has shocked the local community, including local councillors and NuneatonÕs MP Bill Olner.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough councillors Jeff Clarke and Gerald Smith, Weddington ward representatives, have expressed their disappointment at the decision.
"We are extremely disappointed to hear that the Highways Agency after having gone through an extensive and lengthy consultation process for the greatly required improvement to the A5/A444 junction now have no monies identified to fund their proposals," the pair said.
"Now they are having to submit the proposals to another government body responsible for major highway funding to assess the RAST (Regional Appraisal Summary Table) of which this scheme is part of, as a potential road improvement scheme for the West Midlands.
"We can, along with many local residents, only hope that they will see this as an urgent scheme and come forward with the monies to upgrade the junction before there are any more accidents at this well known blackspot.
"We are seeking support from our local MPs and requesting their help in ensuring this scheme is recognised as a high priority and not lost in the long grass waiting before anything is done."
An Ôextremely disappointed,Õ Nuneaton MP Bill Olner said that he will do all he can to help solve the situation.
"This is bitterly and extremely disappointing news for everyone involved," Mr Olner said.
"I will do all I can to help lobby the right organisations to make sure that these important improvements are made before anyone else suffers at the junction."
A spokesperson for the Highways Agency said that the decision to withdraw the plans was made because it was not value for money.
She said that interim safety measures installed at the junction in 2002 has had a major effect on the amount of deaths and serious accidents.
"The benefits of any new scheme are not going to give value for money and because we have limited funds, there will be other sites throughout the country where safety issues are going to be value for money," the spokesperson said.
"Of course we are going to monitor the junction and should we need to go back there in the future, then that can be done. However, the interim scheme that we introduced in 2002 seems to have worked really well and we do not think that it needs changing at the moment."

IA5 safety measures scrapped









the interim scheme that we introduced in 2002consisted of hatching the outer lane of the DC section going north ,and putting in two cameras (one partially hidden behind both a tree and it's own sign .According to the scamera site they may be set to catch HGV at 40
No speed reduction has taken place ( so where's the speed kills answer)



Although after the disaster performed on the A5/M69 island ................

"Of course we are going to monitor the junction and should we need to go back there in the future, then that can be done. However, the interim scheme that we introduced in 2002 seems to have worked really well and we do not think that it needs changing at the moment."