A Heavy Burden. (UPDATE)

 

By The Black Balaclava.

The life’s of residents in Twyford Road are being put at risk by a lack of action by Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire Police.

Despite promises from both the council and elected Lib Dem councillors to tackle the problem of heavy lorries illegally using the road as a short cut from the motorway to the towns industrial areas, not a single HGV has been stopped by the Police in Eastleigh or fined for an abuse of the 7 ton weight resection that is imposed over the entire length of the road.

Residents have had to endure damage caused to their cars parked along the road as other vehicles try to avoid the oncoming HGV traffic, resulting in car mirrors being broken off and damage to kerbs and pavements as these lorries try to squeeze down the narrow carriageway during rush hour traffic, forcing pedestrians to run for cover as vehicles mount the pavement to avoid colliding with each other.

Safety has always been an issue for residents locally as speeding on this road has always been a major problem, resulting in Hampshire Police setting up sporadic speed traps to catch offenders but no action appears to be taken with regard to breaches of the law on weight restrictions.

Residents of the 300 flat complex at Alexander Square, have complained relentlessly about the lack of a crossing to enable them to get across Twyford Road safely to access both shops and Eastleigh Town Centre, yet school children having to cross the road to get to local schools are being forced to dice with death each day with the problems of heavy traffic and speeding vehicles on this dangerous road.

Mrs. Jane Willow, who lives on Twyford Road, says that speeding is not just confined to the day time. She has logged daily incidents of vehicles from S&T Cover and Network Rail returning to Dutton Lane via Twyford Road at 4am in the morning at speeds far exceeding the 30mph restriction. “They must think that no one is watching them so they can drive however fast they want to get home and I think the Police should be checking the speeds of vehicles at all times of the day as these drivers are a menace to road safety.”

The council recently sent out a document to residents with a list of proposals that were to be considered to improve access for pedestrians, which included the provision of two road crossings, however they have been told that at this stage it is only a consultation document and that any changes to the road will not take place for many years to come.

At a recent council, Local Area Committee, meeting one Twyford Road resident pleaded with councillors to take steps to stop the use of HGV’s on this road, pointing out that the road is clearly sign posted with a weight restriction, yet both the Police and the Council are turning a blind eye to the problem. The Chairman of the committee did his best to brush the issue under the carpet with comments that he would ask this to be looked at but nothing has changed and it is feared that it will take a loss of life before either party is prepared to act. “How many more times must we read press statements from the Police and the Council that ‘Lesson will be learned’ after a person is killed.??” Asks Mrs. Willow.!!

How many more times indeed. So get off your arses councillors and get this sorted NOW. It’s not rocket science.!!

UPDATE.!! 08 August 2011

Hampshire Police have tonight issued a statement via Twitter, that as a result of complaints from residents, their commercial vehicle unit & roads policing unit will be conducting random checks on Twyford Road.

Lets hope this will result in a major reduction of illegal traffic use on this road.