Following a series of accidents near the junctions of the Hardwicke Hall Hotel and Belchford on the B1281 between Hesleden and Blackhall Colliery I asked the traffic assets team from the county council and the traffic management officer from Durham constabulary to meet on site to see what they could suggest to prevent any further accidents.
Please go to this link for details of the most recent incident which took place last month: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/06/police-response-to-traffic-incident-on.html
Following my request Stacey and I met on site with a local resident and highways and police traffic management officers on Thursday afternoon and came up with a number of measures that should make the location safer and reduce the risk of accidents.
From the outset we made it clear to officers that the B1281 is a very busy route, used as the main link to and from Blackhall Colliery on the coast to the A19 Interchange at Castle Eden and beyond. As such there have been several accidents over the years, many of which could have been avoided if the appropriate safety measures had been put in place. We also reinforced the point that it's a popular route for walkers who use it frequently as a link between the communities of Blackhall Colliery, Hesleden and Castle Eden. Those pedestrians are also exposed to the dangers of traffic incidents along that stretch of road and are entitled to feel safe when out and about.
We had initially asked if the national speed limit could be reduced to 40 at this stretch of road but the idea was firmly rejected by officers as unrealistic and unenforceable. As an alternative it was suggested that solid double white lines down the centre of the highway would act as a deterrent for vehicles attempting to overtake on the approach road. Coupled with yellow tiger stripes (or rumble strips) and additional warning signage on the highway surface at the entrance points at both sides of the blackspot location it is felt that this would at least have the effect of highlighting the potential dangers ahead, triggering speeding motorists to slow down before they get to either junction.
It was also suggested that street-lighting should be considered at the junctions (similar to the lighting at the junctions to Myra Avenue and Gray Avenue in Hesleden further west along the B1281). Although this wasn’t seen as viable at the moment it was hoped that street-lighting could be installed at this location at some point in the future if the council needs to take any additional safety measures as part of its home to school transport policy.
Finally, following reports that pedestrians have been forced to walk into the road in some parts I’ve reported the badly damaged footpath along this stretch of road for inspection and repair.
**While highways and police officers were in the area they took the opportunity to visit the site of the new roundabout further down the road towards Blackhall Colliery, adjacent to the ongoing housing development on the B1281. I’ve raised several queries over the past year or so on behalf of residents and drivers reporting vehicles driving the wrong way round the roundabout when heading west towards Hesleden. Highways and traffic officers have agreed to consider options to make improvements to the road layout and signage as part of periodic road safety audits linked to the housing development. Background details about the construction of the roundabout can be found in the link here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/05/update-on-traffic-issues-on-b1281-at.html
I’ll report on progress as soon as I have more information from the authorities.
