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'Please improve safety on killer road'

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/ne ... 58deb5.lpf

Cambridge Evening News - 13 March 2007

GRIEVING teenager Naomi Barker has spoken out about the killer road that claimed her young sister's life.

In a letter to the News, she has urged council chiefs to improve safety near the bus stop where 15-year-old Imogen Barker died a fortnight ago.

And the man in charge of Cambridgeshire's highways has pledged to meet her to discuss her plea.

Imogen, from Parkway, Shudy Camps, was hit by a car after getting off a bus at Horseheath Green junction, on the notorious A1307 road between Cambridge and Haverhill.

Her death was the fourth in just six months on the A1307, which campaigners claim needs urgent safety improvements, including speed cameras.

Police investigations into the death of Imogen are carrying on, and the detailed circumstances of the accident have not yet been revealed.

But South East Cambridgeshire MP Jim Paice has written to Cambridgeshire County Council demanding that cameras are installed as a matter of urgency, saying: "We cannot go on with this carnage".

It has also been suggested that the bus stop where Imogen died should be moved, but Naomi, 17, believes that would be a mistake.

She said: "The bus stop is on the top of a hill and allows a clear view in both directions. There was a motion to transfer it to the lay-by down the hill, but that would place someone crossing the road at a disadvantage. My view of traffic will be limited because I will only see approaching cars as they come over the hill.

Furthermore, there is the added difficulty of the bus pulling out of the lay-by and trying to rejoin the traffic as I try to cross.

"As someone who, along with several others, uses the bus stop almost every day for college and work, a move would be of great inconvenience."

Naomi said that crossing the road was dangerous, especially during rush hour.

"There is a steady flow of traffic moving at a high speed," she said. "This can often result in having to take a risk, as there is no possibility of the A1307 being clear in both directions. I often have to rely on the good nature of drivers who wait for me to cross."

She said that what was needed was "a traffic island or crossing, awareness signs, and speed cameras".

Grim evidence of the mounting carnage on the A1307 was spotlighted last summer after two young people lost their lives in separate crashes just 17 days apart.

Towards the end of August, passenger Stevie-Jay Sims, 17, was killed when a car hit a road sign near Linton, and early in September, 35-year-old driver Anthony Bacon's car spun into a ditch at Linton, leaving him with multiple injuries from which he later died.

In September 2006, the Newsrevealed that the A1307 was racking up more than 100 accidents on average every year.

The following month, the road was closed after a four-vehicle smash near Horseheath, which left three people trapped. They had to be cut free by fire crews, and the accident caused huge tailbacks for several hours.

The month after that, November, brought another fatal crash, this time at Bartlow crossroads. Driver Elizabeth Clifton-Brown, 80, collided with a truck and died later.

The horrific toll triggered angry demands for safety improvements. Local resident Chris Cullum, a former town councillor at Haverhill, urged West Suffolk MP Richard Spring and South East Cambridgeshire MP Jim Paice to raise the issue in Parliament.

In November, the News reported that Cambridgeshire County Council had carried out a review of the southern section of the road, which confirmed it had one of the highest accident rates in the county. It was revealed that safety measures, including speed cameras, were being considered.

But when councillors met to debate the issue in December, they drew back from taking action, claiming the road was not dangerous enough to qualify for cameras. It was decided to defer further discussion on safety schemes - for a year.

The lack of action was slammed by campaigners fighting to stem the tide of death and injury. Esther Cornell, spokeswoman for the A1307 Action Group, told the News: "We cannot wait any more.

The driving on the road may be poor, but lots of accidents are happening at the same places. We are told the council is doing assessments - but during that time, lives are being lost."

Naomi and the rest of the Barker family - dad Roger, mother Christiane, brother Sebastian, 19, and younger sister Anna, 13, are still trying to cope with the shock of Imogen's death.

The family moved to their home in Parkway, Shudy Camps, about seven years ago, and the 15-year-old was a very popular student at Linton Village College.

On the day she died, she had been to the cinema with friends, and had been shopping
* to buy a birthday present for Anna.

Highways chief will hear ideas

MARK Kemp, director of highways for the county council, said he would be looking at the results of the police investigation into Imogen's death.

He told the News: "Cambridgeshire County Council is concerned to hear about any accident especially one as tragic as this and our thoughts are with the family of Imogen.

"I am keen to meet with Naomi as soon as possible and to listen carefully to her ideas.

"The council will also be looking very closely at the results of the police investigation and subsequent inquest to see what improvements may help along this section of the road.

"Reducing accidents on the A1307 is a priority for the council, and we have already spent around £1 million on safety-related measures. We are constantly reviewing the situation to further improve safety.

"Unfortunately addressing the problems of this 15-mile stretch of road is very complex and no one measure will solve all. For example 48 per cent of accidents in the last five years actually happened on the two- mile section within Cambridge itself and are in the main minor accidents.

"At the latest accident site there had been previously no pedestrian accidents and the two recorded in the last six years at the junction were rear-end shunts into a stationary vehicle. Plans have already been drawn up for measures to address this issue.

"The council has looked at the accident sites along the road and is considering what, if anything, can be done to treat the causes of these crashes.

"Measures such as the selective reduction of the two lanes over Wandlebury Hill, as well as flashing interactive signs and high friction surfacing, have already been installed on the A1307 between the A11 junction and the Suffolk border.

We also have mobile safety cameras operating on the rural sections with fixed cameras on Hills Road in the city. In addition to engineering measures our road safety education team have targeted campaigns at the area and specific issues relating to the injury accident history. The council is also liaising with the police and talking to colleagues in Suffolk to look for solutions."

Furthermore, there is the added difficulty of the bus pulling out of the lay-by and trying to rejoin the traffic as I try to cross.