A45 Petition a great success
Following the tragic death of Sophie Bywaters on the A45 in October, many residents expressed their concern by signing a petition which was presented to Brian Binley Northampton South MP at one of his Saturday surgeries.
Following the presentation of the petition with over 2,000 signatures enclosed Brian Binley passed on the concerns of his constituents to the Highways Agency and called for changes to be made in order to ensure better pedestrian safety along the busy A45 route.
When receiving the petition from Gemma Whitlock, Brian Binley commended her efforts: "This is a tremendous effort. I think it is extraordinary that people are still trying to walk over this road, when clearly we know how dangerous that is. Cars travel along it at 70mph – it's like crossing a racetrack.
"Gemma is to be commended for her hard work in collecting all these signatures. It goes a long way in showing the strength of feeling.”
Brian Binley has now received a response from the Highways Agency which stated that they were proposing the installation of 1km in length of a 2m high steel fence along the central reserve of the A45 north from the Wooton Fields overbridge towards the Queen Eleanor junction and to improve the signing, lining and kerbing to facilitate the safe crossing of minor roads as well as encouraging the use of the existing footbridge.
The Highways Agency also stated that they would be meeting with Northamptonshire County Council to discuss proposals and is hopeful that we can deliver this scheme by spring 2010.
Brian Said: “I am delighted that the Highways Agency has responded so swiftly to my letter and addressed not only my concerns but also of all who signed the petition.”
“I am however, concerned that the residents will have to wait until the spring of 2010 considering that people are still crossing the road.”
“The road is especially dangerous due to the speed that the vehicles travel at which leaves very little time for pedestrians to react. It is important that the Highways Agency have an open mind in ways to improve the situation with the road and is committed to making this happen sooner rather than later”.
“It is tragic that this road has cost a young life before something has been done about this. I once again would like to thank all of those who signed the petition and this is a victory for them to ensure that the tragic death of Sophie Bywaters is not forgotten and ensuring that it does not happen again in the future.”