CAMPAIGNERS in Whorlton are calling for more traffic calming measures in the village following a number of collisions and near-misses at a controversial T-Junction.
Residents say the 30mph speed restriction starts too close to the village at its entrance from Barnard Castle and the give-way at the T-junction is scarcely visible and should be replaced with a stop sign.
They also want illuminated vehicle activated speed signs installed.
Whorlton and Westwick Parish Council chairman Cllr George Stastny says the problem has existed for decades but has got worse in the past two years.
He added: “We have so much more traffic now, even more so now that the bridge is shut – mainly in the morning with the school rush hour. So, the parish council paid a quite lot of money already for road markings but the residents say they are not effective.”
A Whorlton Traffic Calming Group was formed last summer to take up the cause and has been working with the parish council to find solutions.
Malcolm Lockyear, from the group, said: “The thing that gets us is the national speed limit sign’s distance from the village is miniscule which is why traffic can’t slow down.”
He added that new builds had extended the village boundary nearer the national speed limit sign and it should have been moved as the village grew.
Fellow campaigner Alison Boddy added: “They never moved it. They say it is in the right place when we asked them.”
Mr Lockyear believes the reduction in speed should be staggered, first reducing from 60mph to 40mph, and then to 30mph. Another issue is that the 30mph limit starts after drivers come around a slight bend and some do not see the sign.
Also of concern is that the give-way sign at to the T-junction is obscured by other traffic signs and overgrown trees.
Mr Lockyear said: “We asked the council to cut them back and they have been cut back a little bit but it’s an ongoing problem.”
Ms Boddy said many drivers ignore the give-way and “whizz” round the junction, and it should be changed to a stop sign. She added: “When they come down here they don’t bother stopping at all. They just take their chance and go round, especially the big trucks.”
Both group members agree that two vehicle activated speed warning signs should be installed at the north and west entrances to the village.
Cllr Stastny said the parish council had requested that county councillors George Richardson and James Rowlandson, along with a county council highways officer, attend their next meeting in March to discuss the campaign group’s concerns.
