Fed up Flackwell Heath residents fear there will be a serious accident if double yellow lines are not put in at the entrance to their road after a string of near-misses.
People living in cul-de-sac Halls Corner have to pull out onto Swains Lane, which they say is a “busy and fast” cut-through for drivers particularly at rush hour, and have urged Transport for Buckinghamshire to install double yellow lines at the entrance so they do not have to contend with cars parking next to it and obscuring their views of the traffic.
One resident, who did not want to be named, told councillors at the Beaconsfield and Chepping Wye Community Board that he was thrilled to learn from Cllr David Johncock that double yellow lines would be installed – but he said that was already over seven months ago, and they have now been told they must wait until November.
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He said: “It’s getting worse every single day. It’s very dangerous to pull out onto Swains Lane.
“There are 10 pairs of cottages to the right as you pull out and none of them have any parking. So we have parked cars on the road.
“We have, at the exit, a dropped kerb and very often there are cars or vans in the dropped kerb.
“So when you're pulling out at rush hour between 7.30am and 8.30am or 9am and then four to six in the evening, particularly from the right hand side, you're pulling out blind into traffic.
“I've had several near-misses and nearly wrote off my car. Years ago, we had a young woman, she doesn't drive anymore. She was sideswiped. It is a very, very dangerous situation.”
He praised Cllr Johncock for “working very hard” to try and get double yellow lines put in on Swains Lane, but criticised the council for the delays in getting them put in.
He said: “Seven and a half months ago, David sent me an email saying ‘good news the project has been approved and I should be able to let you know the installation date shortly’.
“That was seven and a half months ago. The latest news is nothing will happen until November. And as a resident and as a council taxpayer - and all the residents in Halls Corner - are all worried about a serious accident happening and we are fed up with the delays.
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“This isn't a trivial matter. I don't want to trouble councillors with trivial matters, but it's a cheap project. Could I ask that it is looked at and dealt with in a timely manner?”
Community board chairman Cllr Jonathan Waters said he would pressure Transport for Bucks to get something done and criticised them for taking too long on projects.
He said: “There’s a reason why TfB is not our favourite. It’s a consultancy, basically, set up a long time ago. It probably did a good job at the beginning but it’s past its sell-by.
“Trying to get things done seems to take far, far longer than it should do. These things don’t take very long to do, if only they can get out there and do it.”
Cllr Johncock said he has been assured it is getting “priority treatment”.
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