ANGRY residents have secured the support of MP Shailesh Vara in their ongoing campaign to improve road safety through the village of Bainton, where traffic volumes have increased due to local development and speeding motorists pose a risk to pedestrians.
Accompanied by local city councillor David Over, Shailesh was also shown the poor state of the pavement along the B1443 from Bainton to Barnack, narrow and in need of repair, made worse in part due to a wall that is falling down. Volunteers monitoring traffic flow believe they have compelling evidence that deserves urgent action.
Among them is Andrew Totten who told the MP residents had been trying for years to convince the authorities of the need for action to reduce the dangers from speeding traffic. He said: "Data collected by volunteers shows that 50 per cent of all vehicles passing through exceed the 30mph limit, some at speeds of up to 60mph. As a result people feel unsafe when walking along the narrow and restricted footpath between the villages to reach the primary school, the shop or pub. Proposals for a variety of traffic calming measures have been tabled with Peterborough City Council but not acted upon."
Data collected from recently installed speed cameras has also highlighted whether speeding vehicles have valid tax and MoT. Mr Totten added: "This is supplied to the police authorities who we hope will co-operate with volunteers to find a way to use this data to convince motorists to obey the law when travelling through the village."
Cllr Over said this would likely be a 'hot topic' at the June monthly Barnack ward meeting: "We've had reports of a number of near-misses and we hope involving Shailesh will strengthen our position as we continue to seek assistance from the council."
Shailesh has pledged to work with Cllr Over and the local community to improve road safety, writing to the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire (Nick Dean) and Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of the city council, urging them to engage constructively with residents to find a solution. He told us: "It is unacceptable this problem has been allowed to go unresolved for so many years despite 'compelling' evidence."
