Bolton: Council hears residents' concerns on speeding corner

Joined and supported by Rumworth Cllrs Abdul Atcha and Shamim Abdullah, the group of residents of Bridgeman Street had a meeting at the town hall on Thursday, June 9 in which an action plan was drawn up.

Residents and councillors agreed that a community forum will be organised, and councillors are backing calls for the rebuilding of speed bumps in order to deter reckless driving.

The most recent crash wrote off two cars, and residents fear that, without action, a car might end up hurtling into a house, or worse, injure or kill a pedestrian.

One residents, Irfan Ismail, was thankful to the council for hearing their concerns.

He said: “All we can do is hope and pray that something gets done.”

One potential obstacle is that the problem area falls between two wards – Rumworth and Great Lever.

Mr Ismail said: “The majority of the problems are in Great Lever but there’s plenty that can be done in Rumworth – for example, bringing the pavement in.

“At the end of the day the council is the council and there’s a problem that needs sorting.”

Residents have suggested making this pavement narrower, allowing more room in the road in case speeding drivers lose control

Cllr Atcha said: “I’m sure that my colleagues in Great Lever will agree that Higher Swan Lane is where the problems start, and I can see no problem and they will want to help.

“Rebuilding the speed bumps will deter a lot of these issues.

“When it comes to safety issues like this I will not back down. We have to fight for safer communities.”

Cllr Atcha admitted that making the road wider and the pavement narrower will be a more complex lengthy procedure, requiring multi-agency coordination.

Cllr Abdullah said: “The wheels are in motion and we’re hoping something will be done to reduce the speed of drivers in the area.

“There will always be those who drive recklessly, but we’ll try and do what we can.”

In response to the most recent crash on Bridgeman Street, Chief Inspector Justine Topping, of Greater Manchester Police's Bolton district, confirmed that a man in his 50s has been reported for traffic offences.

She said: “Across the force the number of traffic officers is doubling as pledged by the Chief Constable.

“Locally we have trained our neighbourhood officers in the use of portable speed cameras, and they are being deployed across the whole borough on a regular basis.

“We will continue to take appropriate action against those who drive above the speed limit or dangerously, as well as continuing our work with the local authority and partners on road safety, to help keep residents of Bolton safe."