Concerned Trawden residents are pulling together to persuade Lancashire County Council to turn their busy road into a 20mph zone.
Derek Howard has spoken on behalf of locals living in Hollin Hall, to express their fears that lives are being put at risk every day because of speeding drivers.
According to the 72-year-old, motorists are using the 30mph route as a “rat run”, travelling at speeds of up to 60mph.
He said traffic flow has doubled since the Float’s Mill development was finished, but that a 500-strong petition presented to the council was given a definitive “no”. Now, he is hopeful a U-turn can be made on the decision, and is appealing for speed bumps and signs to be installed on the street.
The retired textile engineer said: “We have no pavement here, and cars are parked on either side of the road, so people have to walk in the middle of the road.
“We have children and elderly people dodging cars, which are coming along doing 50 to 60mph.
“Somebody is going to get hit one day by a car - nothing is surer than that.
“Some drivers are careful, but there are the ones who don’t give a damn. It is a rat run.
“We have sent a petition of 500 signatures to the town hall, but they have just said no. Residents are annoyed because they won’t do anything, and they are fed up with the speeding. We were getting somewhere until the last election.”
Backing the residents’ campaign is Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson, who said that 85% of Pendle’s residential routes were turned into 20mph zones before the Conservative party lost control of Lancashire County Council last year.
He said: “I support the residents of Hollin Hall very strongly. I have written to the county council on behalf of Hollin Hall residents and other residents in Pendle, who feel they were promised this, and then let down.
“It is the kind of area that would really benefit from the 20mph scheme. 15% of roads have drawn the short straw, and hopefully LCC will do what was promised.
“Everything shows that the scheme was having a dramatic impact - there were a reduced number of RTCs and a reduction in the number of people killed on Lancashire’s roads.”
Responding County Councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We need to ensure the money we have is targeted at reducing the number and severity of casualties across the county.
“I have approved an extra £1m for road safety measures, based on evidence-based research we’ve carried out to identify priority areas.
“We’ve examined the casualty records supplied to us by the police for Hollin Hall and Lanehouse in the last five years. The records show that there have been no accidents resulting in serious injuries and one resulting in a slight injury.
“Based on this information, it is not proposed at present to consider Hollin Hall or Lanehouse for 20mph speed limits.
“We will, however, conduct a speed survey on Hollin Hall and Lanehouse and review the signing to see if anything can be done to reinforce to drivers the need to drive at an appropriate speed.”
