Councillor Julia Silvester at the traffic lights funded by the Liberal Democrat-controlled town council at the time

Labour blunders have led to the traffic speeding chaos that we have on Wigan Road today, says a leading councillor.

Ward councillor David Wilkinson has blasted the Labour administration of years-gone-by for continuing to allow housing developments in Daisy Hill without any regard for improvement to the highway infrastructure on Wearish Lane and Wigan Road. He said: “They continued to let more and more houses go up, which has put increasing pressure on this hotspot.”

Things came to a head nine years ago when there was a massive pile-up of cars along the stretch of Wigan Road that has been brought to the forefront recently after an accident involving an 11-year-old boy. Cllr Wilkinson recalls seeing car parts strewn across the road in the pile-up: “That was a pretty dramatic turn of events, which motivated the Liberal Democrat controlled town council at the time to pay for new traffic lights at the junction.”

Councillor David Wilkinson who has revealed Labour's blunders

At the time the town council had demanded that Bolton Council take action, but the pleas were ignored, and they went ahead to fund the scheme themselves.

But later, when a similar scheme to build a new pelican crossing on Church Street outside the doctors surgery was put forward, the Labour-run administration refused to back it. It was only when the Liberal Democrats took control of Bolton Council that the plan was given the green light.

Cllr Wilkinson added: “What has happened with the junction at Wigan Road has echoes all around the town, in particular of the events over Church Street. Bolton’s Labour-run Council has been quick to allow more houses, but they are not so forthcoming when it comes to improving pedestrian and highway safety.”

Julia Silvester at the Wearish Lane junction

Your councillor, Julia Silvester, has told of her shock at learning that a driver feedback sign at Wearish Lane was damaged and all the important information regarding traffic speeds has been LOST.

It comes at a sensitive time, when one local boy was hit by a passing vehicle on Wigan Road. Residents are demanding action over the situation with speeding vehicles, and generally fast-flowing traffic at this danger spot.

The feedback sign, which was placed on Wearish Lane as a temporary measure, warns drivers of their speed, but also collects vital traffic information for highway engineers who consider future traffic safety plans.

Warning sign at Wearish Lane

But after making enquiries about the device, Liberal Democrat Julia Silvester has learnt that a wreckless individual has damaged the camera and all of the information it had been recording was lost, and the sign was not functioning correctly. Now it has since moved on to Hartford Road.

However, the situation at the junction has got so bad that the road safety partnership has recommended the use of a mobile speed camera and a location for its use on Wearish Lane is being looked into.

Julia said: “I am absolutely appalled that somebody has put other people’s lives at risk because they damaged the sign. It was put in place for a reason – to encourage drivers to think twice about their speed, collect vital information for future safety measures, and to generally help in making the road safer for pedestrians.”

“I had asked the Council how long it would be before the sign could be returned to the road because I am concerned that we need to take action now in light of what has happened recently,” she added.

Julia had also requested that the sign be positioned on the site that it has moved to because of similar problems with traffic speeds.

The road surface of Wigan Road at Hart Common has finally been resurfaced, after years of Liberal Democrat calls for action.

The resurfacing work has just started from the Bridge Inn pub to the Wigan Borough boundary.

Liberal Democrat councillors Julia Silvester and David Wilkinson had been asking Bolton Council to take action on the road for many years.

Residents have also complained over the years about the dangerous speed at which traffic travels along this stretch of the road.

Local councillor Julia Silvester, who is pictured here with Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Jackie Pearcey, said: “Our team has been consistently pressing for some form of traffic calming measure.”

As part of the renewal of the road surface recently, residents were at long last consulted on some road safety measures by the council’s highways team.

Liberal Democrats in Westhoughton had been asking repeatedly that the council consult residents first on what action could be taken.

Now some form of safety measure is being integrated into the road alongside the resurfacing programme.

Tell us what you think of the work by e-mailing focus@westhoughton-libdems.org.uk.

Residents who live on the road all the way from the Cricketer’s Way junction to the Westhoughton boundary at Hart Common are fed up with the speed and volume of traffic along the road.

They have told David about the lack of any safety measures, despite traffic flows growing over the years.

David has called for Bolton’s Labour-run council to reply to residents concerns. He said: “A serious look is needed at what safety features can be installed to protect both motorists and pedestrians.”

This length of Wigan Road has no crossing facilities at all.