Residents call for action to halt speeders on Wigan estate

Neighbours on a number of streets in Hindley Green say they have put up with years of inconsiderate motorists racing up and down their roads and fear there will be a collision involving deaths or serious injuries.

A number of initiatives have been tried, including putting up signs at the entrances to the estate and painting the 20mph speed limit in large figures on the road surface, but residents say these have been totally ineffective.

Attempts to point out how slow people should be going have resulted in disgraceful displays of aggressive behaviour, residents say.

Their calls for further action on Cambourne Drive, Colwyn Drive and Aylesbury Crescent to tackle the problem are being backed by ward councillors.

Wigan Council urged motorists to obey the rules of the road but said driving offences were ultimately for the police to enforce.

Resident Stephen Hitchen said: “I’ve been trying to do something about this for over two and a half years but we just seem to be getting nowhere.

“They’ve painted these big 20mph signs on the road. I said when they were doing them that they were a waste of time. Just as they had finished a car came flying past.

“There are also signs where you come onto the estate and there’s one on a lamppost but people are just totally ignoring them.

“I’ve tried to get people to slow down by pointing out the signs and I’ve been threatened, spat at, sworn at. One guy said he would choke me and other drove at me.

“Somebody is going to be knocked down and killed. A lot of people here have grandchildren and we’re frightened of letting them play at the front.”

Ken Boulton, who also lives on Cambourne Drive, said: “It’s absolutely shocking at rush hour. You can only guess the speeds people are coming through at but it must be at least 40mph in a 20mph zone.

“I would like to see one end blocked off so people can’t use it as a cut-through to avoid the traffic lights. Failing that it has got to be speed bumps. It’s just ridiculous.”

Mr Hitchen said he previously carried out a speed monitoring exercise using a radar gun and caught more than a dozen people travelling faster than the speed limit in the space of an hour on a daily basis.

One motorist was clocked doing a shocking 64mph in a 20mph zone.

Speeding cars have knocked wing mirrors off parked vehicles on the narrow streets and one motorist lost control and flattened the low garden wall of a property after misjudging a corner, residents said.

Independent councillor for Hindley Green ward Coun Bob Brierley said: “This has been going on for years and the situation is very bad. People are speeding down the road on Cambourne Drive. There is going to be an accident and residents are trying to prevent that.”

A consultation was previously held on whether or not entrances to the estate should be blocked off to stop it being used as a rat run.

However, the results showed a difference of opinion locally and the move did not happen.

Coun John Vickers said he was also in favour of some kind of speed control and that he supported the residents.

Mark Tilley, assistant director for infrastructure and regulatory services at Wigan Council, said: “There are a number of initiatives we use to encourage motorists to drive safely, including our community speed watch scheme and introducing 20mph speed limits on the majority of our residential streets.

“We would urge motorists to drive safely at all times and to follow speed limits as they are there for a reason.

“Dangerous driving and speeding should be reported to the police who can enforce these offences.”

More information about the council’s community speed watch scheme can be found at ww.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Parking-Roads-Travel/Roads/20mph-speed-limit.aspx