'Someone is going to get hurt' - Kettering mum's plea for new pedestrian safety measures

A Kettering mum fears someone is going to get hurt unless new pedestrian safety measures are urgently installed in two busy roads.

Lauren Ellis wants council chiefs to take action to make the Warkton Lane area safer – particularly given the increase in traffic because of the Hanwood Park development.

Currently a lack of pedestrian crossings, a section with no pavement and hedges blocking the line of sight near the Deeble Road roundabout all make it harder for people to safely cross.

And Lauren, a physics teacher at Wellingborough’s Weavers Academy, says it shouldn’t take an accident, or worse a fatality, before something is done about it.

She said: "I have a four-year-old son and we like to go walking in the area but it feels like we are taking our lives into our hands every time we cross the road.

"You have no choice but to hope for a break in the traffic. At some point a driver is going to make a mistake, or a pedestrian is going to make a mistake, and someone is going to get hurt."

The 44-year-old has drawn up a plan of what she wants to see happen, which will be discussed by Kettering Town Council tonight (Wednesday). They will decide whether or not to support her arguments but the final decision over whether new pedestrian safety works take place is in the hands of North Northamptonshire Council.

Lauren thinks the council should put in a pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Stubbs Lane and Warkton Lane, where the pavement on the west side ends going south. So many people currently end up crossing there that a path has been worn into the verges.

She also thinks that a pedestrian crossing is needed on the west side of the Deeble Road roundabout as there are no crossings across Deeble Road until the junction with St Catherine's Road. Hedges in Warkton Lane on the south side of the roundabout make it impossible for pedestrians who are crossing here to see approaching vehicles and Lauren said it can become a bit of a ‘mad dash’ when cars suddenly appear around the corner.

The third action she wants council chiefs to take is to extend the pavement along the west side of Warkton Lane all the way to Barton Road.

She said: “As Hanwood Park continues to grow, and more amenities and green spaces are installed, there are bound to be more pedestrians from the Ise Lodge estate who will want to cross over Warkton Lane.

"But there is currently no appropriate or safe place to do so along the entirety of the road.”

A report set to be discussed by councillors tonight outlined some pedestrian safety measures which are already in the ‘planning and implementation stages’ for the Ise area.

These include traffic calming and a pedestrian refuge in Warkton Lane north of Deeble Road, a crossing just south of the garden centre in Warkton Lane and two crossings in Deeble Road.

But Lauren said she believes there is no sense of urgency and is worried that pedestrian safety is not a top priority. She has urged others who want to see action taken to contact their local councillors.

She said: "I'm frustrated because nothing seems to be happening. It does not take a degree in civil engineering to see what is going on here.

"It feels like there's no sense of urgency."

A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “We appreciate residents who are keen to work with us in improving safety on the highway network. Any requests we receive for highways schemes are assessed for their viability and considered in the context of existing schemes in the area and budgets available.

“We work closely with Kettering Town Council on a range of issues concerning the town, including those involving highways and will continue to do so.”