Work is underway to install a new light-controlled pedestrian crossing at the site of two recent accidents on Bradley Stoke Way, close to the Willow Brook Centre.
The crossing is part of a scheme of measures being implemented in response to a public petition signed by more than 3,900 people, following a serious accident in September last year in which a 13-year-old boy crossing the road on a mini-scooter was struck by a motorcyclist.
Earlier last year, 10-year-old Callum Hartigan suffered serious leg injuries in an accident on the same stretch of road after being knocked off his bike by a speeding motorist.
A court hearing in May this year was told that the BMW car that struck Callum had been travelling at 67mph as driver Daniel Wooler rushed to make a meeting he was late for.
Appearing at Bristol Crown Court, a “remorseful” Mr Wooler, 44, of Stanton Drew, was handed 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, with 150 hours of unpaid work and £850 court costs. He was also banned from driving for a year and ordered to pass an extended driving test before returning to the road.
Litigation in connection with the September incident is believed to be ongoing.
Other measures being introduced at the accident site include extending the scope of the 30mph speed limit and installing a northbound bus lane (already planned as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove bus rapid transit scheme).
Notices posted on lamp posts in the area state that Bradley Stoke Way will be closed overnight in both directions for five nights beginning today (Monday 11th June). Traffic will be diverted along Brook Way and Savages Wood Road.
The People’s Cycling Front of South Gloucestershire blog has expressed some strong views on the sentence handed out to Mr Wooler:
Cities shit for walking. S gloucs. And their legal system
WARNING: Language may offend
South Gloucestershire Council has informed us that the advertised overnight road closures “have been cancelled”. Instead, (single) lane closures will be used.
Regarding Mr Wooler’s sentence, it never ceases to amaze me how Judges and other public servants are so detached from reality and the people they serve! I despair!
That goes for councillors as well I presume?
Driving at 67mph along Bradley Stoke makes it almost impossible for any pedestrian to safely cross a road.
With that in mind this sentence should be reviewed.