No action to be taken at Harbury Road Fosse Way junction - The Leamington Observer

No action to be taken at Harbury Road Fosse Way junction

Leamington Editorial 5th Mar, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

SAFETY improvements at a notorious accident blackspot near Harbury are unlikely to happen any time soon.

Resident Pete Kostiuk set up a petition towards the end of last year urging Warwickshire County County to implement traffic calming measures at the junction of Fosse Way and Harbury Lane.

He called for action following a spate of near misses fearing it was only a matter of time before someone was killed or seriously injured.

The latest accident at the site saw a car end up on its side and a woman taken to hospital with a suspected fractured sternum on Friday (February 27).




But despite this, Warwickshire County Council highway chiefs say they will be making no further safety improvements at this time.

They admit the crossroads have long been a concern with the accident rate ‘significantly’ increasing over the past two years but the authority say the junction is only 13th on their priority list for accident sites.


They also maintain the budget for the whole county’s accident reduction measures is only £350,00 and to put in safety measures such as a roundabout or traffic lights at the junction would cost in the region of £750,000 to £1.5million.

A county council spokesman said: “Our priority list is assessed on an annual basis and this junction is unlikely to be looked at for another year.

“At this stage there are no plans to move forward with either a roundabout design or the introduction of traffic signals.

“If funds become available, which is most likely to be through development opportunities, this location will be reassessed to determine how best to resolve the ongoing safety concerns.”

But Mr Kostiuk said he would not give up the fight.

He told The Observer: “1,474 people signed the petition and we were all disappointed it was turned down on the basis there are 12 other locations in Warwickshire that have a higher priority than this one.

“I always felt the petition would be dismissed on the basis of lack of funds, but to be told there are 12 more important junctions in Warwickshire astounds us all.”

Mr Kostiuk has now now submitted a Freedom of Information request in a bid to discover the other locations.

He added: “Community forums in Harbury and Bishops Itchington have been buzzing this weekend with annoyance that the council won’t do anything.

“Unfortunately it looks like it going to take an inevitable death there before the council act and that’s really when they will have to answer to themselves.

“Myself and the residents who hate using this junction will not let this rest and will continue to pester the council to save them the embarrassment of having to explain a fatality if they haven’t taken action to avoid it.”

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