A York councillor is demanding action on a stretch of York road that has had nearly 100 recorded crashes.
Cllr Kallum Taylor was speaking out after the latest incident on Acomb Road, which saw a car flip onto its side on Thursday night.
He told YorkMix: “According to the crashmap.co.uk website, there’s been 96 incidents on Acomb Road in the last 24 years.
“And of course, that will almost certainly not account for daily near misses and feelings of unease felt by probably everyone that uses the road in different modes of transport.
“Ninety-six incidents in 24 years is really quite damning. It’s really worrying.”
He said both the police and council are well aware that the road was dangerous, yet nothing has been done.
“It’s not news to the council or the police,” said Cllr Taylor, who represents Labour on Holgate Ward. “We’ve had parent-led campaigns for safe crossing points near the school on Acomb Road.
“There was a fatality at the bottom of Holgate Road near Acomb Road a few years ago.
“You just get to a point where you start wondering whether all the emails, all the conversations, petitions, campaigns, register with with anybody.
“In my time as a councillor, which has just been over five years now, decision makers, be they political or professional, seem to be more worried about slowing car journeys down by a little bit rather than making roads safe for everybody.
“It’s completely alienating, and I feel a bit exasperated because I’ve got constituents in Holgate Ward who really want to see change, and I’m absolutely with them.”
With so many incidents there, why hasn’t Acomb Road become a priority for safety improvements?
Cllr Taylor said: “My experience over the years is that the threshold to achieve change is so unreasonably and dangerously high that you have to think well, if Acomb Road hasn’t had any changes, despite that huge number of incidents over the last 24 years, just how bad has it got to be for change to come?”
He would like a 20mph speed limit to be introduced on the road, and a signal-controlled crossing point for children going to Acomb Primary School.
And “some decent active travel provision wouldn’t go amiss”.
“Proper cycle lanes, protected cycle lanes, would really make a difference. Roads are for everybody, we’ve all got to use them – not just cars but people on foot, people on bikes, scooters, the lot.
“We’ve got to make a roads like Acomb Road work for everybody.”
Cllr Taylor was hoping the Labour council voted in this May will make a difference.
“It’s quite critical really that this new Labour administration that I am part of include these things in the new local transport plan that they’re working on.
“We need to be able to show the difference that we want to bring compared to years and years and years of inaction.”