Request for steps to improve trunk road’s accident blackspots around village

Immediate action is being requested to help reduce danger on a stretch of road notorious for serious crashes, with hopes of a more detailed review to follow.
Blackspot: One of several accident scenes on the A616, the Lee Lane crossroadsBlackspot: One of several accident scenes on the A616, the Lee Lane crossroads
Blackspot: One of several accident scenes on the A616, the Lee Lane crossroads

The A616 at Crow Edge has a history of serious incidents between two sets of crossroads, at Victoria on the boundary between Barnsley and Kirklees, through to the Lee Lane junction.

The latest happened earlier this month, where a father and son died following a collision between their BMW sports car and another vehicle, in the vicinity of an ‘S’ bend which residents also regard as a hazard.

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That collision remains under investigation but a Barnsley councillor has now visited the full stretch of road, along with Dunford Parish Council chairman Allen Pestell and Penistone resident David Wood, who campaigns on community issues, and is hoping to get some immediate action.

Coun Dave Griffin said it was apparent a warning sign to alert drivers was not working in the vicinity of the Victoria crossroads, while others had been uprooted and were laying on the ground.

He said he would be asking for those to be put back in action as quickly as possible, but was also hoping for future work to improve safety in the whole area.

He said: “I am really grateful to Allen and David for letting me hear their concerns, not considering it as isolated sites but to see it as a stretch of road with a number of issues.

“It has been really insightful.

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“There are some things which can be done immediately, some signs are not working or are laying on the ground.

“There are other ideas and suggestions which need discussion with highways and I will be requesting an urgent meeting,” he said.

Requests for improved safety on the road are not directly connected to the most recent fatal crash, because the circumstances have yet to be confirmed and made public, but due to general concerns about the road’s history.

Coun Pestell has concerns about both sets of crossroads, the ‘S’ bend near the Wavin works and another bend in the village, on a stretch of road with heavy HGV traffic but where parked cars both narrow the road and make pedestrian access on the footpath difficult.

He is suggesting a range of measures, from chevron signs to warn of forthcoming bends to using council-owned land to create a staggered crossroads at Lee Lane.