Calls for urgent action at 'nightmare' traffic hotspot between Rossendale and Blackburn (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Calls for urgent action at 'nightmare' traffic hotspot between Rossendale and Blackburn
8:00am Saturday 18th February 2012 in Belthorn
By Emma Cruces, Reporter
CALLS have been made for authorities to work together on solving problems at a ‘nightmare’ junction.
Residents in Belthorn and county councillor Peter Britcliffe claim urgent action is needed at an congestion hot spot ‘before a child is hurt’.
Traffic stretching back on Grane Road, between Blackburn and Haslingden, from the Guide junction of the M65 is currently causing some drivers to use the adjacent road through Belthorn village to jump long queues.
The community said Belthorn Road has been turned into a ‘rat run’ since a new traffic lights system was put in place at junction five last year.
Village drivers said they also end up trapped in Belthorn for up to half an hour in the mornings as they are mistaken for queue jumpers by drivers who refuse to let them out.
Suggestions towards making mornings easier for Belthorn folk have ranged from making the road one way or blocking access at one end.
Coun Britcliffe claims action is being delayed because the traffic lights are under Blackburn with Darwen Council control whilst the Grane Road is covered by Lancashire County Council.
He said: “The different authorities must get together to solve the traffic issues. The time has come for action and some resolution brought regarding these issues. It will be too late when a child is killed.”
However Blackburn with Darwen cabinet member for highways, Coun Dave Harling, said officers from both councils were urgently trying to reach a solution.
He said: “We are aware of this very serious problem. It is quite complex because it affects a motorway roundabout, so we have to also have the agreement of the Highways Agency. It is not as simple as either us or LCC saying ‘we want this to happen’.
“Blackburn officers are in urgent talks with both LCC and the HA to see what can be done. Dangerous or erratic driving is inexcusable and I would say is a matter for police.”
A spokesman for LCC said a number of meetings had been held and solutions such as changing light times were being trialled by the Highways Agency.
Belthorn resident John Creasey said: “It is a small village and and just not suited to this type of traffic.”
Comments(18)
CAG1
says...
9:20am Sat 18 Feb 12
living the end times in BB1
says...
9:44am Sat 18 Feb 12
s_smith wrote:some drivers use the adjacent road through Belthorn village to jump long queues.
Well Councillor Peter Britcliffe needs to get his facts right. I have spoken to Blackburn Council before about these lights and they are not theirs, but the Highways Agency's; it was also them that put the new white lines down which is causing most of the problem.
Can a tractor not breakdown each morning or some other kind of obstruction at the point where they enter the village to queue jump..? 'at least until after the rush hour or the villagers who need to escape Belthorn in the morning have done so'..
Coun Britcliffe claims action is being delayed because the traffic lights are under Blackburn with Darwen Council control whilst the Grane Road is covered by Lancashire County Council.
Its probably the LCC & BWD white collar staff speeding through the village queue jumping late for work.
burner
says...
10:15am Sat 18 Feb 12
CAG1 wrote:Sorry, CAG, you are MILES off course. This is Grane Road, NOT Preston New Road . . . . you had a bad night? Wrong story!!! You should apologise to these villagers.
Is it the traffic they are worried about or the fact they don't want a chavvy KFC next door? Sounds to me they are in the NIMBY brigade.
louderfasterlonger
says...
12:10pm Sat 18 Feb 12
burner wrote:Slightly confused me too....
CAG1 wrote:Sorry, CAG, you are MILES off course. This is Grane Road, NOT Preston New Road . . . . you had a bad night? Wrong story!!! You should apologise to these villagers.
Is it the traffic they are worried about or the fact they don't want a chavvy KFC next door? Sounds to me they are in the NIMBY brigade.
STEP 1 Know your drinking limitations.
STEP 2 Do not log on when said limitations have been exceeded.
sean_brfc
says...
1:33pm Sat 18 Feb 12
CAG1 wrote:Why shouldn't they be?
Is it the traffic they are worried about or the fact they don't want a chavvy KFC next door? Sounds to me they are in the NIMBY brigade.
burner
says...
1:43pm Sat 18 Feb 12
disgusted tunbridge wells
says...
1:51pm Sat 18 Feb 12
living the end times in BB1
says...
3:07pm Sat 18 Feb 12
disgusted tunbridge wells wrote:So all the people who live in Belthorn are liers and the LET are reporting problems that don't exist just to confuse the public of east Lancashire.
Nobody cuts through Belthorn ! The Grane needs to be two lanes wide as it descends through the cutting towards the roundabout and why on Earth did somebody start painting pointless white lines everywhere ?
Your ferret stinks
says...
4:29pm Sat 18 Feb 12
At what point are lights deemed to be the correct course of action on a roundabout as i'm of an opinion that they actually cause the congestion in many cases, how often have you been sat at lights when it's quite safe to go and all the lights are on red in all directions, then as soon as they go green 5 cars go though and they are red again! It's really no wonder that you see more and more people just blatently driving through them risking their licence and an accident.
So until the decission is made on what to do with the situation why not try turning them off for a week and let the villagers of Belthorn be the judge.
Is it me or are there more and more stories coming on here that you cannot comment on?
burner
says...
4:36pm Sat 18 Feb 12
Sutty the wise
says...
4:46pm Sat 18 Feb 12
Sutty the wise
says...
4:53pm Sat 18 Feb 12
sean_brfc
says...
11:09pm Sat 18 Feb 12
burner wrote:The traffic in particular, but people have a right to complain about 'chavvy KFCs' in their backyard. Whether they get their own way or not is another matter. Not everyone can.
Sorry, sean, worried about traffic at Belthorn or KFC near Mellor? Which?
tosh103
says...
6:59am Sun 19 Feb 12
JamesLT
says...
1:28pm Mon 20 Feb 12
The main problem is caused by traffic lights on the motorway roundabout. Until a change is made to allow traffic coming off the grane road to get on to the roundabout, the people of Belthorn will suffer long delays getting on to the motorway or into Blackburn. The current situation is ridiculous. Either the phasing of the motorway lights must be changed or new lights added for people coming off the Grane road to allow them some time to get on to the roundabout.
Othe issues:-
1)Too many people use the Grane road as a rat run. It is not at all suitable for the amount of traffic, which is carries. A way needs to be found to divert traffic onto the A56, which, as a dual carriageway can carry heavy traffic.
2)Much of the traffic in Belthorn has been caused by the expansion of the primary school. When my son attended the school there were 60 pupils. Now there are 170+. It is a good school and many people want to send their children there but there was a complete lack of forethought and planning when the expansion of the school was allowed. There are not enough people in Belthorn to require 170 primary school places so it is obvious that many parents would be drving into Belthorn twice a day with their offspring. For Belthorn residents, like myself, there are often long delays getting through the village at dropping off and picking up times. There is not nearly enough parking for all these cars. The parents, anxious to get to school on time or to pick up their offspring have little or no consideration for the people who actually live here!! Many of the people making the most fuss about the traffic in Belthorn are these 'incomers'. One solution would be to actually cut the size of the school and limit it primarily to children of Belthorn residents!! Another might be to buy a bit of land to supply some parking.
Let's get the Motorway lights changed first, then look at the other problems.
disgusted tunbridge wells
says...
1:34pm Mon 20 Feb 12
Tigi0407
says...
9:19pm Tue 6 Mar 12
s_smith says...
8:32am Sat 18 Feb 12