A SERIOUS road traffic accident at Parkway, on the A417 close to Ledbury, has renewed calls among concerned villagers for something to be done about speeding traffic, before someone dies on the road.

According to Ledbury town councillor, Jane Hopkins, who lives at Parkway “every single villager has an accident or near miss story”, and that includes herself. She added: “Many accidents are not reported. I’ve witnesses five myself in the last few years. You lose count.”

The latest accident incident happened at Parkway at 9.30pm last Friday (August 31).

West Mercia Police said a Mazda MX-5 Sport Convertible was travelling east from Ledbury towards the M50 when it was in collision with a 60-year-old pedestrian on the carriageway.

The Mazda sustained a damaged windscreen. An ambulance attended and the pedestrian was taken to hospital in Birmingham.

For Parkway residents, the latest accident has come as no surprise.

Clare Blewitt called the stretch of road “an absolute death trap” and she narrowly escaped seriously injury herself, in November 2016, when another vehicle was involved in a collision with the rear of her car, while she was turning into her own drive.

Her car was officially a write-off.

Residents recently raised a petition for something to be done about the stretch, and Herefordshire Council commissioned a report.

But this was far from being comfortable reading for Parkway residents who fear that, once Ledbury expands by 2,000 new homes, traffic through the village, to and from M50 motorway, can only increase.

Speed surveys in June revealed that 85 per traffic of traffic passing through Parkway was breaking the 40mph speed limit by an average of more than 8mph; and at one point through the village there was found to be no compliance at all with the speed limit.

However, the report states: “The likely reason for the recorded 85th percentile speeds on this section being higher than the posted 40 mph speed limit by 8.3 mph could be that the drivers perceive the posted 40 mph as an unreasonably low speed limit for the road condition and thereby may not comply.

“Hence, there is no technical justification for reducing the speed limit to 30 mph, without substantial engineering measures.”

For local resident, Rob Clarke, this is the wrong conclusion and simply not good enough.

He said: “We are not impressed with this whitewash report which takes no account of the safety of residents living in Parkway on the A417.

“The most disappointing part of the report is the suggestion that vehicles should be allowed to travel at the speed they feel is appropriate, and that to present them with a safe speed limit that they may not feel is appropriate could cause an increase in accidents! The report confirms that the average speed through our village is just below 50mph, and this is considered acceptable!”

Mr Clarke added: “We are trying to convince the county council that the road through Parkway is no different to Tarrington, Bartestree, Staunton, Hartpury or Maisemore, which all have 30mph limit sections.”

However, not every resident, including Cllr Hopkins, wants to see the speed limit through Parkway reduced to 30mph, only for the existing 40mph limit to be better observed and monitored.

But there does seem to be general support for traffic calming measures at Parkway, such as electronic speed indication devices.

Meanwhile, fears of a fatal accident at Parkway remain among residents.

Mr Clarke himself has made his own log of recent accidents, including one where a female pedestrian suffered a broken leg, as a result of being in collision with a car at Parkway.

Residents say walking into Ledbury is dangerous because the pavements swop from side to side, making in necessary for them to cross the busy road three times, just to get into town.

Herefordshire Council was asked for a response, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to press.