'I said it needed a safety barrier' - resident's warning after Penwortham smash

A South Ribble resident is repeating her call for safety measures at a recently redesigned roundabout - after a crash that left a car embedded in a fence.
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The smash happened on the Golden Way roundabout in Penwortham on Saturday evening, when a car mounted the pavement at the turn for the A582 towards Preston. It is not thought that anybody was seriously hurt in the incident.

Dianne Wilkinson has previously called on Lancashire County Council to install railings at the site of the smash - at the corner of Bank Top Road - because of what she claims is the risk to pedestrians negotiating the junction.

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“A couple of dog-walkers came past after the crash - it’s a good job they weren’t there when it happened,” Dianne said.

Aftermath of the crash at the junction of Bank Top Road and the A582...Aftermath of the crash at the junction of Bank Top Road and the A582...
Aftermath of the crash at the junction of Bank Top Road and the A582...

“I said that it needed a safety barrier - the council has made a big mistake here and just aren’t listening. Something needs sorting.”

Dianne says she has witnessed the aftermath of a series of accidents and near-misses at the roundabout in recent months - including one when she was explaining her concerns to highways officers who visited the spot last year.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service back in September that the sheer number of traffic lights was causing confusion at the junction, because drivers’ eyes were being drawn to sets in the distance rather than the nearer signals that they should be obeying.

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Dianne warned that barriers were needed to act as a buffer for unsuspecting pedestrians who could get caught up in an accident like the one that happened on Saturday.

...and the smash itself (courtesy of Dianne Wilkinson)...and the smash itself (courtesy of Dianne Wilkinson)
...and the smash itself (courtesy of Dianne Wilkinson)

The junction was remodelled last year to accommodate the new Penwortham bypass.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "We hope that everyone is okay following this incident. We're not aware of the circumstances and its cause, so couldn't comment further about it at this time.

“The purpose of pedestrian guardrails is to prevent pedestrians from crossing where it would not be safe to cross and guide them towards the formal crossing points which have been provided. They are not designed to act as a safety barrier to protect pedestrians from vehicles.

"We'll continue to monitor this new layout at the roundabout, following the recent opening of John Horrocks Way [Penwortham bypass]."