Residents thanked their Councillors for successfully campaigning to stamp out a notorious car accident hotspot.
Over the years, Spotland Road has seen numerous crashes, including at least one that was fatal. Residents had also raised numerous issues with speeding drivers. The worst accident blackspot was identified as the Spotland Road junction with Clement Royds Street. It was a problem area highlighted by Councillors Faisal Rana, Iram Faisal and Amber Nisa. But now township funding has been approved and vital safety improvement work has been carried out to make the junction safe.
A previous scheme had introduced extensions to the pavement along with waiting restrictions to improve visibility for both pedestrians and drivers. This had also helped reduce the width of the road making it easier for pedestrians to cross Spotland Road. But the new scheme – which is estimated to have costed around £11,500 – further increases the existing build outs on each of the four sides of the junction by around five meters, while also extending the no-waiting any time restrictions. By making these existing build outs bigger and wider, parked cars are pushed back, and this significantly enhances the line-of-sight drivers can enjoy.
Councillor Rana, who is also Chair of Rochdale North Township said: “We are very happy that our residents are so pleased. This was a blind spot that seriously hindered a driver’s line of sight. But now, while exiting on to Spotland Road junction, drivers will have much longer clear views.”
Councillor Iram Faisal emphasised: “The improvements mean drivers will now be able to see oncoming cars from further away and that means they will only come out onto Spotland Road when they know it’s safe.”
Councillor Amber Nisa commented: “Before these valuable improvements it was a bit of a safety lottery. Drivers simply could not see and would just have to pull out, at great risk of having an accident. Our efforts mean that there will be improved road safety and a much lower risk of collisions.”
