An accident involving a 10-year-old girl on Lower Hanham Road has reignited calls for safety measures to be introduced.
The girl was in collision with a car at about 3pm yesterday in Lower Hanham Road, near the junction with Woodyleaze Drive. She was taken to Bristol Children’s Hospital with serious leg injuries.
The scene of the accident was not far from the site where Hillfields couple Ross and Clare Simons were killed in January last year. They were riding on a tandem bike when they were knocked down and killed by a disqualified driver.
Today Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore said he was once again calling on South Gloucestershire Council to carry out road safety improvements to Lower Hanham Road and Hanham Road in the wake of the accident.
Chris Skidmore MP with local councillors and residents at Lower Hanham Road in February 2013
He wrote to the council in August, repeating demands for safety measures. Along with local residents and Beacon Rise Primary School, the MP has also collected a 215-signature petition calling for greater road safety measures and said he warned the council of the danger of the road in letters written in August 2010, March 2013 and July 2013.
Today he said: “This recent incident demonstrates that urgent action needs to be taken to make these two roads safer. As the local MP, for years I have been pressing for action, working with local residents calling for road safety measures. The council has yet to report back to me on the most recent data from the speed visor that I had installed on the stretch of road, but I hope that now we will be listened to.”
The MP has this week written to Director of Environment and Communities Steve Evans, repeating his concerns and calls for action. In his letter he says: “As a result of my last letter on 18th August, which resulted in the installation of a speed visor on the road and monitoring of road speeds, I received a letter from Chris Harris (highways engineer) setting out what safety measures could be put in place, and the projected timescale for these.
“I remain extremely concerned, however, that this stretch of road remains particularly dangerous- with the potential for future serious road incidents- and should be dealt with urgently.
“Yesterday another incident occurred, with a child being hit nearby where I had called for road safety measures to be installed and where the speed visor was placed.
“It is clear that action must be taken to make these roads safer, and to prevent any further serious injuries or worse from occurring. While the letter from Chris Harris detailed that future measures would be discussed at the Kings Forest Forum next spring, I believe that the council should be taking more urgent action and working to a faster timescale to reassure my constituents who like me believe that this stretch of road is a potential deathtrap.
“I would welcome any meeting with transport officials in which I can ensure that residents and myself are able to express our continued deep concerns about the safety of this road.”
Meanwhile the police would like to hear from anyone who was in Hanham yesterday and may have seen the collision. If you are able to help contact Almondsbury road policing unit on the force number 101.
