Residents living in Newport have warned, following reports of dangerous driving and parking near the town centre, that there is ‘going to be an accident’.
Katie Kirby and Debra Greening, who live on Hearn Street, this week told Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council’s (NCCC) Full Council meeting that ‘a really nasty accident’ was waiting to happen.
Katie said:
“In our road, we have a set amount of parking on one side.
“Unfortunately, most people have got multiple cars and they are now parking on the junction at the bottom of Hearn Street that joins to Caesars Road to the point where there’s been multiple near misses and they’re there day in, day out.
“There was one there this afternoon and it’s always at the same time – right when the children finish school.
“A lot of the high school walk down Caesars Road, cross over Hearn Street because it’s one way and then they go off to their houses. There’s going to be an accident at some point.
“We’ve been involved with parking – they come round and ticket – we know of one car that’s had a ticket every day since June 10.
Article continues below this advertisement “We do see a lot of people speeding – they speed down Hearn Street. They’re speeding round from Foxes Road and they almost crash because they don’t realise that the bottom bit of Hearn Street that bends into Caesars Road is two-way.”
Debra said:
“From Foxes Road, where the pedestrian crossing is, that’s a danger point. I’ve been on that pedestrian crossing twice and I’m not the only one.
“I’ve got halfway and the car’s gone straight across the zebra crossing. If you’re waiting to cross at the top of Foxes Road, the hierarchy of road users says that if you see somebody on a junction there, you give way.
“They don’t give way, all they can see is the road ahead and they go straight down.
“The same thing happens coming down from Mill Street where the Crocker Street junction is.
“You can be standing there waiting to cross and even though the sign that they see is for elderly people, a warning sign, they don’t stop.”
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, who represents Newport Central on NCCC and at County Hall, agreed not enough has been done to improve road safety in the area and said a previous measure to install a sign for elderly people crossing was ‘pathetic’.
She said:
“Mill Street, Foxes Road – I’ll take that bit first.
“I’ve been campaigning for 12 years to get something done, it’s terrible. We never wanted that road to open up in the first place.
“I was promised – ‘if it gets bad we’ll put a crossing in, no problem’. It’s never happened.
“The community council has though put money aside. We’ve got it in our earmarked reserves now to go towards doing something in that area.
“Mainly around that junction – Mill Street, Crocker Street – it’s really bad around there.
“I did meet with officers just before Christmas to say we’ve got to try to something. It’s sounds like a lame excuse and I am ashamed.
“Just putting that sign up for elderly people crossing – that was pathetic really – all I was able to within the power that I had.”
Cllr Jones-Evans added she had contacted Mark Downer, the Isle of Wight Council’s parking manager, after being notified of problems on Hearn Street by Ms Kirby and said it was ‘completely on her radar’.
IW COUNCIL OBVIOUSLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT ROAD SAFETY
they should have speed humps installed
it’s 2025 where are the speed Camera’s
My advise to the IDIOTS responsible for road safety
on the island is to take a visit to London and see
how a real leader dealw with speeding motorists.
Sadiq Khan would have Camera’s installed islandwide if
he was running the island.
I drive around that area every day, I’ve never had a problem, Silvan Drive is a problem with double yellows in the wrong places. its a nightmare
The island needs permit parking, that will get
many unnesseccary vehicles off the road,
too many households own unnesseccary vehicles
and leave them parked up all day long
making it difficult for other motorists to park
their vehicles.
If IW Council rolled out permit parking not only
would it generate extra revenue for the council it
would also make roads clearer for everyone.
It’s a shame this Council are not intelligent to
know how to deal with situations.