'We need residents to support this' - Consultation launched on accident hotspot junction near Sedgley
Councillors and safety campaigners have spoken of their delight after the launch of a consultation covering major improvements to an accident hotspot along a main road in Dudley borough.
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The campaign which has been ongoing for a number of years has been led by Castle and Priory Ward councillor Keiran Casey and residents to secure improvements to the junction of the Birmingham New Road and Sedgley Road, the A457.
The junction is regularly busy and a bottleneck, with cars struggling to turn right across the main road onto the Sedgley Road in both directions, with what councillor Casey said is a number of near misses occurring each year.
As part of the campaign, the call has been made for filter lanes to be installed on the Birmingham New Road, allowing for cars to turn right independently of oncoming traffic and allowing for more free-flowing traffic on the main road too, as well as improvements to pedestrian facilities.
The consultation has been launched and residents are being urged to have their say, particularly on the specific junction improvements and also the wider proposals along the Birmingham New Road.
Councillor Casey said: "We’ve campaigned alongside residents for a number of years now to improve safety along the Birmingham New Road, and have had some great successes lately with new crossings further up in between the Aldi and the Dudley Canal Trust.
"It’s great to see these proposals contain new filter lanes for the junction of the Birmingham New Road and Sedgley Road, which I have no doubt will improve safety significantly, not only for those using the road, but also for pedestrians as this will also include new pedestrian crossings.
"I’d urge everyone to make sure they have their say on this consultation, put their support across for these improvements and comment on the wider proposals too.”
Area resident Gordon Laird said: “We’re delighted our calls for a number of years have been acknowledged and proposals have been included in this consultation.
"This is a really busy junction and I’ve seen first-hand lots of near misses and on occasions actual accidents where people have struggled to turn right across the road, so we really need residents to put forward their support for these proposals.
"Myself and other residents including Terry Ledbury are really grateful to Keiran for pushing this for a number of years and securing these proposals and the associated investment this will bring to our local area, and we want to see this delivered.”
Residents can have their say on the consultation including the junction improvements at https://a4123-corridor-improvements.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/section-3-shaw-road-to-tipton-road-improvements/step1.
