More evidence has emerged of how £47,000 worth of traffic calming measures are having no affect on curbing reckless drivers. A shocking clip shows a BMW tearing down a city-centre street and ignoring a no entry sign.
As reported in the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City Council spent the money after five years of campaigning by locals. They had wanted bollards, or sleeping policemen humps to stop Great Marlborough Street being used as a rat-run, completely, or slow down traffic.
But instead the council spent £25,000 on four "street thumps", as described by a council traffic and road safety manager - and are a kind of low level - literally - speed bump. But one resident described the 25mm "speed cushion" as "a yellow line on some tarmac shavings", and say residents wanted bollards to prevent traffic using the road completely or proper sleeping policemen humps to slow it down
A further £22,500 was spent on creating one-way system in the street. But video evidence collected by locals shows a blue car zipping down Great Marlborough Street at 47 mph in the wrong direction. Another clip shows a skateboarder sailing over the "thump" without having to slow down at all. Residents say they have numerous other clips show vehicles moving at speed without, slowing at all, down the street.
Now a further clip, the worst so far, captured by resident Barry Murray, shows a blue BMW being driven at speed. The driver ignores a one-way sign and the "thumps" in the road have no affect whatsoever as it does not lose any pace as it goes over them.
Great Marlborough Street, off Whitworth Street, in Manchester, has a 150-place nursery, and about 2,500 people live in the surrounding Macintosh Village area.
A spokesman for the Macintosh Village Residents Group said: “Following a campaign by M.E.N., local residents and MP Lucy Powell over FIVE years we are gobsmacked that £47,500 and five years has been spent waiting for no road markings , no illuminated signs and speed bumps to slow “majority of vehicles” are a UK first “speed thumps”.
"Its laughable to see a lad on a skateboard attempt to ride the Manchester Council speed thumps. Manchester Council must have serious waste if this has cost £47,500 and taken five years. We hope they [the council] will add the correct line markings and the promised speed bumps. Its clear with the evidence and speeds they are required.”
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: "The one-way scheme along Great Marlborough Street, as well as the road thumps which have been put in place are part of an experimental programme to prevent its use as a through road between Oxford Street and the Mancunian Way. The effectiveness of this scheme will be regularly reviewed by the Council, with the door open for small changes to be made if the circumstances require."
