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17
Sept
Two options left to make 'death junction' safe, North Rigton residents told
Only two feasible options remain to make one of the county’s most dangerous junctions safe, residents heard at a special meeting convened by North Rigton Parish Council last night.
The meeting in St John's Church, which was attended by Darren Griffiths of North Yorkshire Council, as well as representatives from the neighbouring villages of Huby and Weeton, was the second held to discuss possible solutions to lower the number of road traffic incidents at the junction, where Hall Green Lane and Dunkeswick Lane meet the A658.
The blackspot sees traffic collisions so frequently that one parish councillor says his family calls it “death junction”.
A resident at last night’s meeting said she had only moved to North Rigton three weeks ago, but in that time there had already been three accidents at the junction.
The A658 Harrogate Road, where Hall Green Lane and Dunkeswick Lane meet.
Other attendees put forward a variety of measures to make the road safer. One suggested lowering the speed limit on that stretch of the A658, but was told that highways regulations made that impossible.
Traffic lights are also not an option, because the junction is too close to the level crossing on Dunkeswick Road.
Stop signs on the side roads – instead of the current Give Way signs – are not viable because they can only be used when visibility is such that drivers have to physically stop, which is not the case at that junction.
The junction viewed from Hall Green Lane, with the Give Way sign on the right. The level crossing on Dunkeswick Lane is just visible beyond the red car.
Local farmer Miles Stapleton suggested double white lines to prohibit overtaking, but Mr Griffiths, who is senior road safety and traffic management engineer for the council, said:
There is legislation around that, and it's all to do with available forward visibility. I understand the double solid requests, but it’s just not going to happen.
The meeting was told that of the 20 personal injury claims arising from incidents on that stretch of road, 19 involved vehicles coming from Hall Green Lane or Dunkeswick that failed to give way.
One man said:
The problem is not just visibility or speed. The vast majority of incidents are due to people being impatient and ‘jumping’ across the main road from one side road to the other. We need to consider a solution that stops people doing that.
We should just shut the Dunkeswick road altogether, so that people have to go round [via the Buttersyke Bar roundabout]. That would also stop North Rigton being such a ratrun, and it would only cost a few hundred quid.
Overtaking is still permitted along this stretch of the A658.
Mr Griffiths said:
I understand the cost argument, but the implications of closing that road would be huge, especially these days, when car use is so common.
There are 1,200 vehicles a day that use that [Dunkeswick] road. Where are they going to go?
Another resident suggested they would just go through Weeton instead, and that would be even worse.
Mr Griffiths, whose remit covers the whole of North Yorkshire, had his own idea about the best solution, but admitted that it was subject to difficult cost constraints. He said:
If I had all the money in the world, I’d probably put in a staggered junction. But that would involve buying land and you’d have to change the signage across the road network, for example at the roundabout. The whole thing would cost millions.
We have been awarded some money from the DfT, but the question is, which schemes will get the money? I’ve put together a list of the schemes in North Yorkshire that need money, and this is number one on my list.
One solution would be a staggered junction like this one where Forest Lane (left) and Rudding Lane (right) meet Wetherby Road.
He added:
There are no recommendations I can make other than a major scheme or closing the road off.
What would you like to see there? We’ve only got a limited amount of money, and I haven’t got a magic wand.
Mary Hopkins, chair of North Rigton Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret after the meeting that she was pleased that the danger of the junction and its priority status had been recognised, and said the parish council would discuss the options at its next meeting on November 4.
She added:
Both answers cost money, so it’s not going to be a quick process, whatever happens.
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