Posted on Monday 17th February 2020
Extra road safety measures are to be introduced at the scene of several fatal accidents.
A large tree is to be cut down and three large, high-visibility chevron signs installed near the Villa cattery on the A518 between Haughton and Stafford.
Mark Winnington, Staffordshire County Councillor for the Gnosall and Doxey division, is using the £7,000 allocated to him as an individual county councillor for local road improvements to fund the work following a fatality last year.
Coun Winnington said:
The county council has considered the reports from both Staffordshire Police and the Coroner into the fatal accident of January 2019 and looked at an assessment of the road surface and monitored the average road speed.
The authority remains satisfied that the A518 is safe, but, having looked at various options involving the four trees, I am happy to fund further improvements to the road by alerting motorists to the potential risk and by removing a possible physical danger.”
The work will involve cutting down the eastern-most of the four trees and adding three large, high-visibility chevron signs indicating the approaching bend when travelling towards Haughton in addition to the existing roadside reflective marker posts.
As one mature tree is being removed, Coun Winnington is in talks to have several oak trees planted to offset the loss.
Helen Fisher, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Transport and Highways, said that the authority spends millions of pounds each year on maintaining one of the country’s safest road networks.
She added:
When there are serious accidents we liaise with the police and the Coroner to see what can be learned.
Although there are no recommendations to act upon, Coun Winnington has prioritised this within his division and the work will be carried out before the bird-nesting season.”