Husband who lost wife calls for better safety on Cambridgeshire road
Councillors are due to talk about improved measures today
Last updated 5th Mar 2024
Improving safety measures at a Cambridgeshire road where four people have died in recent years are due to be discussed today.
Madeleine Parnwell lost her life when her car entered a drain off a single track carriageway on Puddock Road near Warboys in December 2017.
In 2018, an inquest heard there was no explanation as to the reason Mrs Parnwell's Volvo car swerved off the road before going into the water.
Councillors will discuss plans to reduce the speed limit and restrict access to those who live and work there and if approved, would go to both an informal and formal consultation through a Traffic Regulation Order%20are,motor%20vehicles%2C%20bicycles%20and%20pedestrians.){:target=_blank}.
"Madeleine's always in my thoughts"
Her husband Steve backs the idea of a speed zone to improve road safety in general:
"Madeleine's always in my thoughts; there's never a day goes past she's not there constantly.
"When I come past fairly regularly, I always give us her a special thought and that's as much as I can do.
"I think if you did widen the road, that would open it up to people who might want to put their foot down even more, so widening I wouldn't support but speed reductions, yes."
Four fatalities in four years
The county council said there have been four deaths on Puddock Road between 2016 and 2020.
Last year, the council's highways and transport committee discussed options and agreed a £700,000 budget for an improvement scheme rising to £1.8 million, where a design was developed for barriers along the section of the road where the incidents have occurred.
Work has been done on further options, including a reduced speed limit, and widening the road whilst introducing a rib line to narrow the lane and warn drivers when they approach the edge of the road.
What else does the council say?
Councillor Alex Beckett, chair of the highways and transport committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: "There are many complexities at Puddock Road from a highways point of view, we want to make the road safer given the history and we are looking at the most suitable option.
“Based on the assessment work done, officers are recommending using enforcement cameras to restrict access to only those who live or work in the area to reduce the likelihood of any further serious incidents.
"This could be done by using an automatic number plate recognition system, and powers are expected to be in place later this year to support this.
"This recommended option will be on top of the reduced speed limit to 30mph, which is already being implemented, and we plan to treat the road by trialling a section to fix the deep rutting caused by large vehicles.”
The authority said the road, currently under a national speed limit, is uneven and causes issues for larger vehicles travelling on it, and feel a lower speed limit will help improve road safety.
"It's tricky to safeguard every mile with safety barriers"
Steve, a former chief superintendent at Cambridgeshire Police, has this message for the council:
"One thing I would say is please make sure you get your potholes sorted out because I'm sure that is a contributory factor to many accidents and certainly damage to vehicles.
"My wife would probably still be alive if there were safety barriers at this point, but it is tricky to safeguard every mile of the Fenland drain with barriers."