Our recent Focus article about the safety fears

SAFETY fears have been sparked at a number of Westhoughton locations.

Residents of the Wigan Road area have told how they fear crossing the road sometimes because of the heavy traffic.

Julia Silvester has asked the council to look into improving pedestrian safety.

The speed limit of 40mph at Hart Common is currently under review after a campaign by dedicated residents of that area.

It follows an accident in 2009 involving a youngster who was crossing at the Wearish Lane junction.

Julia said: “Heavy or speeding traffic can often be a problem in Westhoughton and we need to do what we can to tackle these issues.”

Traffic calming measures along The Hoskers have halted problems with speeding vehicles after a long-battle by residents and Julia’s team.

The dangerous bend at the Wigan Road and Southfield Drive junction

Liberal Democrat councillors are calling for safety improvements to be made to Wigan Road.

Councillors Julia Silvester and David Wilkinson are both pressuring the council.

Julia said: “Residents have often complained to us about how dangerous the road is for motorists and pedestrians alike.”

An improvement scheme for Wigan Road from Wearish Lane to Cricketers Way has been set up but will need to be consulted upon first.

We are calling for:

- Improved crossing facilities at the Wearish Lane junction;

- Refuges to assist pedestrians crossing near Dobb Brow;

- A crossing at the junction with Broadwalk and Coverdale Road

- Traffic lights on the bend at the Southfield Drive junction.

Councillor Julia Silvester at the Wearish Lane junction

The council have informed us that they would be willing to put in a new right turn lane for people entering Southfield Drive as well as a refuge island for pedestrians.

But they refused Lib Dem calls for traffic lights because the accident rate is too low.

Cllr Wilkinson said: “It seems you have to have a serious accident or be killed before they will consider traffic lights.”

Lib Dems made similar calls for traffic lights at the Leigh Road and Washacre junction many years ago. After persisting, the council finally agreed to the lights, which were eventually installed at the danger spot.

Julia Silvester’s Liberal Democrat team has already had a number of road safety improvements made along Wigan Road at Hart Common including pedestrian islands.

We will keep you informed of progress with the plans through this website.

Is 40mph too much for Hart Common?

The Council is to assess whether the 40mph speed limit through Hart Common is too much.

It follows calls from the Liberal Democrat team for additional safety measures to be explored.

It comes after a young boy was knocked down further up the road at the Wigan Road / Wearish Lane junction.

Many Hart Common residents believe this is the time to act and reduce the speed limit to bring it down to 30mph.

Liberal Democrat councillor Julia Silvester welcomed the news that a speed survey is to be carried out. She said: “We are pleased that we have been able to organise a speed survey after residents’ requests.”

The Lib Dem team has asked for this to be carried out as soon as possible, so the Council has agreed that the survey will be carried out from 2nd November, after the school holidays.

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.”

Councillor Julia Silvester at the Wearish Lane traffic lights

Concerns have been heightened about the safety of the Wearish Lane and Wigan Road junction after an 11-year-old boy was involved in an accident with a passing vehicle.

Councillor Julia Silvester at the Wigan Road junction

Westhoughton Liberal Democrats would like to make the following statement:

“On Friday 11 September there was a terrible accident involving an 11 year old boy and a car on Wigan Road at the Wearish Lane junction.

Due to an accident investigation being undertaken by the police, Liberal Democrat Councillors David Wilkinson and Julia Silvester have asked the accident report is made available as soon possible to see what extra measures can be taken to improve road safety.

If there are any extra road safety measures that can be put in place then we will push Bolton Council to implement them as soon as possible. This may include extending the 30 mph zone right through to the Westhoughton/Hindley boundary at Marsh Brook.

At this moment no details on the cause of the  accident have been released by Greater Manchester Police or Bolton Council and we feel it would be inappropriate to make any wild speculations into the reasons for the accident or any possible solutions.

We wish the young boy a speedy recovery with his family.”

Ends.

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.