Councillor campaigns for improved road safety in Gunthorpe after car collides with fence

A call to action has been declared in Gunthorpe as residents in the area are concerned about pedestrian safety.

Gunthorpe councillors’ plea for speed bumps to slow down drivers.

A Peterborough councillor is campaigning for improved road safety measures to be put in place in Gunthorpe.

Councillor Sandra Bond, who represents the Gunthorpe ward, said she has received “many complaints” from residents about drivers speeding on Gunthorpe Ridings road and is calling for it to be made safer.

"We’ve been trying to get safety measures put in place in Gunthorpe Ridings, as well as other roads in Gunthorpe and Werrington,” councillor Bond said.

She hopes speed bumps can be installed to slow vehicles down on the road as she fears for the safety of passers by.

After contacting Peterborough City Council to request enhanced road safety measures be put in place, she was told that the council uses collision data to determine whether it can install measures.

However, she claims she was told that Gunthorpe Ridings did not meet the required criteria for action to be taken.

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson told The Peterborough Telegraph: "The council takes road safety extremely seriously and we are working closely with the police to understand the causes of these accidents to determine what measures may be needed.

"Where appropriate additional measures will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in line with site constraints and available budgets."

It comes as Cambridgeshire Police arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of drink-driving after he mounted the pavement and crashed into a lamppost and through a fence on August 29, .

The force confirmed on August 31 that the man was released without charge and that no further action would be taken.

"One of the residents I spoke to said that approximately two minutes before the incident happened his son and friends were walking along the pavement that the driver mounted,” Mrs Bond added.

"We could’ve had fatalities that day. I’m trying to convince Road Safety and Peterborough City Council that we cannot wait until the day that happens.

"We need safety measures because it’s going to happen unless we do something soon."

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Councillor Bond met with residents in Patterdale Drive, just off Gunthorpe Ridings, on August 31 – including Michael and Helen Woloschuk – whose garden fence the driver of the vehicle collided with.

"I was in my kitchen when I heard a loud noise,” Helen said.

“When I looked out of the window the car was halfway through our back fence.”

"It was a miracle that nobody was walking on the path when it happened,” Michael added. “It’s going to take somebody to be killed before they decide to do anything.”