Speeding drivers, traffic chaos and blaring horns on city main road
Residents on a road in Mickleover[1] say that the development of the local area over the past 30 years has caused “chaos” for the community. Once a historic road leading to a train station on the Great Northern Railway line, Station Road is now a major thoroughfare through Mickleover and acts as a link road between the A52 Ashbourne Road and the A516.
But the urbanisation of the former village and the continued building of new housing estates in the local area has increased traffic volume ten-fold over the past few decades. Now, residents say that it’s impossible to reverse in and out of their driveways, it’s difficult to cross the road and that the 40mph speed limit is way too fast[2].
Kevin Stannard, who has lived in Station Road for 29 years, said: “The amount of traffic that’s coming down here now is colossal.[3] You’ve only got to get a problem on the A38 or the M1 and you know about it straight away because the traffic immediately becomes gridlocked here. We constantly hear car horns all the time during rush hour. There are collisions here. It’s not safe.”
New housing developments such as Hackwood Grange, Langley Country Park and Bramble Gate have or will see the influx of at least a thousand new residents in the area when completed. Cotchett Village, on the south side of Station Road and completed just a few years ago, is also just a few hundred metres away from the route and is populated by hundreds of people.
Kevin remembers a neighbour moving out when he first moved in, who cited the traffic back then as having increased beyond his liking. But he says it was nothing compared to now.
“It was very quiet at the start,” he said. “There is an inevitability about it getting busier.
“But it’s not being helped. It can only get worse. There’s no way I’d move in here now. All the traffic must’ve devalued our property. Anyone who was looking to buy and knew what it was like living here would not want to pay the market value.”
Station Road is not the only road in Derby that, when built hundreds of years ago, served as a link between villages, but now acts as a commuter route despite still being a residential road with properties set just metres back from the tarmac. Stenson Road, which leads off the outer ring road through Littleover and Sunny Hill to South Derbyshire, has also been the subject of complaints due to an excess of traffic during peak times and speeding drivers.[5]
Another person posted their frustrations about Station Road online and received a wealth of backing in response. Their post said: “Something needs to be done about the traffic/speed problem. I live on the road, which is first and foremost a residential road, and I’m sick and tired of having people driving horrendously close to me and then almost crashing into me when I go to park in my own driveway.
“Not only that, the sheer number of times I’ve been then greeted with rude hand gestures or even people winding down their window to shout at me for parking in my own driveway is frankly tiring and upsetting. People are clearly unable to show a little bit of common courtesy, so we need some kind of traffic-calming solution. Not only for the residents, but also the children struggling to cross the road to get to school in the mornings.”
Another issue regularly brought up by locals is the condition of the road, which is old and worn and has only been made worse by the number of cars travelling down it and the speed at which they do so.
Someone commented: “We moved here a few years ago and love living here. However we too are really concerned about Station Road. The speed, carelessness, parking… just awful. I agree fully with the person who said that there just isn’t the infrastructure or amenities to cope with the vastly increased population and traffic due to all the new estates. It’s not rational.”
Another said: “Walked my dog down Station Road yesterday teatime. Won’t be doing that again. Was like walking down the M1. Really dangerous.”
The long and straight nature of Station Road leads to motorists often driving at way over the speed limit, only compounding the problem. Suggestions have been made, but they would take a long time to implement and have not been planned alongside the new housing estates.
Kevin said: “I think as part of these developments there should be some sort of link road between the A52 and the A516, which would encourage people to use that road instead of this one.”
A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “While these new developments are mainly outside the city boundaries, we’re looking at the impact they will have on traffic levels. As a result, changes have been made to install a new roundabout and signals at junctions, some of which are outside of the city.
“In the last five years there have been six recorded road traffic collisions on Station Road, all within the existing 30mph section, and two further collisions at the Station Road/Radbourne Lane roundabout.
“These streets are both under review and there are plans to implement new speed limits. The city council is also examining on-street parking and driver behaviour, and is considering options including speed monitoring as a result of previous concerns being raised.”
References
- ^ in Mickleover (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ it’s impossible to reverse in and out of their driveways, it’s difficult to cross the road and that the 40mph speed limit is way too fast (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ amount of traffic that’s coming down here now is colossal. (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Potential exposure to toxic waste being investigated after Derbyshire residents fall ill (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ also been the subject of complaints due to an excess of traffic during peak times and speeding drivers. (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)