Drivers using shortcut in Warwick urged to slow down after car ploughs into house - The Leamington Observer

Drivers using shortcut in Warwick urged to slow down after car ploughs into house

Leamington Editorial 9th Dec, 2017   0

DRIVERS using a ‘rat-run’ in Warwick need to be slowed down says a resident after a car ploughed into her house.

A 20mph speed zone was recently put in place on High Street but it has prompted impatient drivers to race along Castle Street which runs parallel to the main road through the town.

Castle Street resident Jayne McHale says while the new restrictions may have slowed down drivers on High Street she has seen a huge rise in the number of cars using her road as an alternative route.

The former Coventry headteacher recently had a car crash into her grade II listed home, and fears it is just a matter of time before it happens again.




She said: “It is nothing short of a miracle that this or a similar crash has not occurred before.

“It is an excellent move to reduce the speed limit on High Street but it will not make a difference to those who drive too fast along Castle Street and Castle Lane – using it as a ‘rat run’.


“I often watch in horror in my window as drivers break at the last minute or shoot out of Castle Street into the adjoining lane without looking.

“People hurtle down the road and there’s no notices, no warnings, nothing. There needs to be an indication or a speed bump, and drivers should go no more than 20 mph.”

Those involved in the crash were left shaken but unhurt, but Jayne believes it could have been much worse.

She says the pavements on the streets were narrow, meaning pedestrians often walked in the road.

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said it would carry out speed surveys to review the new speed limit after around six months, to assess whether more traffic calming was needed.

They added: “Additionally, further work is due to be undertaken on the transport proposals for the town centre that were consulted on last summer. This will include considering how changes could be made to Castle Lane to prevent rat-running.”

New signs are also being put up in the town followed by works designed to reduce speeds on Priory Road.

Other works in the pipeline include a one-way system along High Street, Jury Street and The Butts, alterations at key town centre gateways such as the Northgate junction, widening pavements, new crossing points, improved cycle links and priority signals for buses.

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