RAT RUN

Residents fear a child could be killed if motorists continue to speed along Cheviot Street on the Morley Estate. One said motorists drive at up to 90mph along the road and a child and a dog have already been struck by cars, while several vehicles have careered into neighbours' front gardens. She said that despite attempts by Derby City Council to slow traffic, crashes were still taking place. Another resident who lives on the road said, “I live on Cheviot St and the 90mph speed quoted is not an exaggeration. However it's at night during the weekends when this has happened. Pretty much when the pubs and clubs have emptied and people are staggering home. It's because the road is a good rat-run to avoid the A52/Markeaton Island when it's busy.”

Another resident added, "I do not let my children out of the house unless I am with them. It's such a long stretch of road, as it joins Slack Street. If anything, the problem is getting worse." City councillor Lisa Higginbottom said work was being carried out to try to make Cheviot Street safer. A community speed watch scheme, in which residents record how fast cars are travelling, has been set up. The council is also moving its new electronic signs, which flash warnings to motorists about their speed, into the area later this year. But Paul Pegg, chairman of the Mackworth Estates Community Association, said residents were "blowing the issue out of proportion". He said, "If you can do 90mph down there, you're welcome to it. There's no way cars are going that fast. I do not think it's a big problem." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/11)

Drivers regularly use Albany Road and its connecting roads as a short-cut from Kingsway to Uttoxeter New Road, but Derby City Council is to ban traffic from entering Albany Road from Kingsway. Drivers will have to travel to the end of Kingsway, turn left into Uttoxeter New Road, and then left again into Albany Road, in a further attempt to add to the existing congestion. The move comes after residents approached Derby City Council in 2000, complaining the street was used as a rat-run. In December, 2000, the council carried out a survey, which showed 51 per of people living in Albany Road, Thornhill Road, Trowels Lane and Connaught Street wanted the road closed.

The council scheme will involve narrowing the junction to prevent motorists turning into Albany Road from Kingsway. But the proposal, to cost £450,000, has met opposition from some residents and businesses. Steve Rhodes, owner of Little Acorns Day Nursery, in Thornhill Road, is setting up an action group to stop the closure. He says his business will suffer if it goes ahead. He has distributed a questionnaire to 300 residents and businesses asking if they agree with the council's plans.

Mr Rhodes is proposing that traffic lights be installed at the junction of Kingsway and Albany Road and the closure of the road's junction with Uttoxeter New Road. He said, "There is a problem, but when the council carried out the survey only three options were put forward - do nothing, have traffic calming or make Albany Road no entry from Kingsway. There is another way. I've had 42 replies and the most popular option is to close off Uttoxeter New Road. The second most popular option is to do nothing."

Resident Peter Goodwin, of Trowels Lane, agreed. He said, "I think it would be better if Albany Road was made into a cul-de-sac with the entrance at Uttoxeter New Road closed off and proper traffic lights at the junction with Kingsway." But Dr Stuart Handley, of Trowels Lane, is supportive of the council plan. He said, "We need to reduce the traffic. It seems the only option at the moment." A council spokesman said, "The road closure will be experimental for a year. People will have the opportunity to object to the council within the first six months."

A car drove down Westbourne Park, Mackworth Estate, and seemed to lose control before hitting a school safety sign for nearby Reigate School, Reigate Drive. The car then spun round, and ended up just a few yards from where two teenagers were standing. The mum of one of them said, "If the sign hadn't been there, the car could have hit the children. Next time there's a collision, people may not be so fortunate. The police are looking into it and have taken the car away for forensic tests." She added that there had also been a problem with drivers speeding on the Mackworth Estate.

Mackworth Estate Police Liaison Committee member Laurence Lomax said, "We've had quite a few reports of cars speeding dangerously along the roads. It's an ongoing problem." Mackworth beat officer PC Dave Wilson said, "Erratic driving is an ever-increasing problem. We're planning to get together with residents to look at how we can address it." How long before there's a residents campaign to impose traffic restrictions on the estate? Much easier than catching and prosecuting the minority responsible.

After all these years, why suddenly is Albany Road deemed to be a rat run? Surely it is only a connecting road joining Kingsway and Uttoxeter New Road. It is also a public road and, as such, is there to be used by any law-abiding road tax paying motorist. According to a survey, only 51 per cent of people living in the area want the road closed. Why doesn't the council do a proper survey and ask the many hundreds of motorists using this route what they think? I'm sure there would be a very different result. The traffic lights idea at the junction of Kingsway and Albany Road is fine, but why is there a need to close the junction with Uttoxeter New Road?

It is suggested that traffic would still be able to use the Trowels Lane junction, but surely this would be moving any problem from Albany Road to Trowels Lane. Why doesn't the council stop this pointless meddling and interfering and put council tax payers' money to better use? It's all very well the people of that area complaining about motorists using their road, but what about when they go out in their cars? Aren't they causing exactly the same problems to somebody else by driving along their streets? Following this logic, the council might just as well close Radcliffe Drive, Rowditch Avenue, Slack Lane, Campion Street, Willesden Avenue... the list is endless. If we could all only use the roads and streets in the area where we lived, nobody would get very far at all, would they? S. Radford

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