Improvements made to road following fatal crash in Blaby
Locals had wanted the speed limit lowered
A road in Blaby where a man recently lost his life is set to be refreshed – but the council has not yet fully committed to cutting the speed limit despite demands from the public.
Matthew Bennett, 45, died at the scene of a crash in Hospital Lane, at around 8.50am on Sunday, April 2 after his car left the road.
Hospital Lane, which is home to both a primary school and a special needs school, had been a cause for concern for residents long before the accident earlier this month.
A petition calling for the speed limit to be reduced from 60mph to 40mph reached more than 100 signatures in just over one day after it was set up in March.
Cllr Paul Hartshorn had also been calling for improvements to the road, which he said is in a “serious state of disrepair with many dangerous potholes”.
Leicestershire County Council has now said it will carry out resurfacing work on the road and markings will be refreshed – but has not yet committed to any further measures at the moment.
The council has said it will carry out speed tests to investigate whether a lower speed limit is needed.
But the authority said it would only cut the limit to 50mph if a change is deemed necessary.
South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa is among those who wrote to the council calling for steps to be taken following the crash on April 2.
He said he is grateful to the council for its swift action.
But Mr Costa added a number of his constituents have been understandably concerned about the safety of the road for quite some time and was pleased the road will be resurfaced and the marking refreshed.
The MP added: “It is welcome news too that a new speed and flow survey will soon be carried out on the carriageway here; this will help inform the Council as to whether a new, lower speed limit would be beneficial for all concerned. Of course,
“I will continue to follow this closely in order to ensure that the safety on Hospital Lane is improved for my constituents and all those using this busy country road.”
A spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said: “The programmed improvements demonstrate that we take the safety of highway users on Hospital Lane and across our network very seriously.”
The spokesman could not say when the work will take place, but it is understood it will be “soon”.