Safe Speed Forums

Residents want action over 'dangerous road' after boy, 11, hit by car
8:54am Monday 14th September 2009



ANGRY residents and councillors are calling for improvements to a busy road where a boy was seriously injured in a collision with a car on Friday afternoon.

Kristien Dunnington, aged 11, was struck as he crossed Wigan Road, close to its junction with Wearish Lane, in Westhoughton, at about 4pm.

The youngster suffered head injuries and was taken to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where he remained last night in a serious condition.

The accident has sparked anger, with people in the town saying Bolton Council should have looked at making the road safer.

Cllr David Chadwick, who is leader of Westhoughton Town Council and sits on Bolton Council, said: “Residents in Hart Common have been campaigning for a long time for the speed limit on Wigan Road to be reduced to 30 miles per hour, all the way from the Wigan boundary into the town centre.

“For the last 18 months, I have been trying to get the highways department to do something about Wearish Lane.

“Residents along there have been concerned about the speed of vehicles. I would like some sort of traffic management scheme down there to slow the vehicles down. It is only a matter of time before another incident like this occurs.”

He added: “I just feel so sad that you have got to have a serious road traffic accident before we get someone to focus on it.”

Cllr David Wilkinson, who also represents Westhoughton South on Bolton Council, said he had requested a report of the accident from the highways department to see whether improvements could be made to prevent another similar accident.

Helen Richards, aged 39, of Gellert Road, Daisy Hill, has a 13-year-old son who, like Kristien, is a pupil at Westhoughton High School.

She said: “My son and his friends use that road but it is dangerous. Lots of schoolchildren use it and there needs to be more pelican crossings.”

Mrs Richards said she reported her concerns to the council’s highways department four weeks ago when her husband was nearly involved in a collision at the junction