Two rural routes on the outskirts of Wigan where vehicles 'persistently' leave the road are set to see speed limits reduced. Wigan council said that after concerns were raised by local residents it intends to make the entire length of Tuckers Hill Brow and Meadow Pit Lane, Aspull, into a 40mph limit.
Tuckers Hill Brow is currently de-restricted, so is governed by the national speed limit of 60mph. At its eastern end, just as the route enters Little Scotland, the speed limit reduces to 30mph prior to the road entering a residential area. At its northern end, on Riley Lane / Meadow Pit Lane, the speed limit was recently reduced by the council from 60mph to 40mph, in response to a number of fatal road accidents occurring along the route over a short period of time.
A council 'statement of reasons' document, in support of the proposals, said: 'Tuckers Hill Brow is rural in nature and has many sharp bends along its route, with numerous chevron signs put in place over the years in a bid to help warn drivers of the dangers. Nevertheless, damage only accidents are still persistently occurring at these bends, although the police road casualty database shows that there have been no reported injury accidents occurring there. In addition, this route has no footway provision along its entire length.'
The council said a speed survey was carried out during March this year, which showed an average vehicle speed of 34mph. Department for Transport guidance on speed limit review advises that a reduction in speed limit should be considered where the average vehicle speed is more than 10mph below the posted speed limit, or also where the average vehicle speed on a 60mph road is below 50mph. The council said the speed survey results indicate that Tuckers Hill Brow meets both of these criteria.
The report added: 'Consequently, the council is now minded to promote a speed limit reduction to 40mph, which is also supported by GMP. The proposed speed limit of 40mph on Tuckers Hill Brow and Meadow Pit Lane will rationalise the speed limits locally on these rural roads, and will help to improve road safety on these hazardous winding roads.'
If the order comes into place it will revoke the speed limit of 60 miles per hour and impose a speed limit of 40 miles per hour, on Tuckers Hill Brow, Aspull from its junction with Meadow Pit Lane to its junction with Little Scotland and Meadow Pit Lane, Aspull from its junction with Riley Lane to its junction with Tuckers Hill Brow. Any objections to the changes must be made in writing to the council, specifying the grounds, by June 30.
