Calls for safety measures on road that is 'not dangerous enough"

Growing numbers of residents are pushing for Chevet Lane, which runs from Sandal to Notton, to be made safer.

However, the number of serious accidents on the stretch does not reach the benchmark set by Highways for a proper investigation to be carried out.

Wakefield ward south’s Councillor Nadeem Ahmed says there has been three serious crashes on the road in the last five years, with nine minor incidents.

However, there needs to have been four serious crashes to warrant attention.

He said: “There’s been a number of crashes, but it says there has to be more serious injuries or a fatality. But time is of the essence. I’ve had around 34 or 35 emails from people, asking me, as a councillor, what we can do about it.

“Turn it all to a 30mph or put a HGV ban on it - something that does not cost a lot of money but at the end of the day, could save lives.

“The residents are very active in this area and they are telling us what they think is needed.”

He says on particular stretch, near to the junction with Carr Lane, needs attention where the central lines have been painted unevenly.

He said: “We have got HGVs down there, and if you’ve got a car coming the other way, you would have mount the pavement, it’s that narrow.

“We don’t know who has drawn it on, but it’s a joke.”

Chevet Lane has been the subject of campaigns for safety improvements stretching back years.

While the southbound stretch from Sandal runs from a 30mph limit to 40mph as the area becomes less populated , it then becomes national speed limit, 60mph towards Notton.

The road has become notorious as a ‘blackspot’, especially in more recent years. In 2014 a man was jailed for causing the death of a teenager after hitting a tree at 80mph.

In 2016 the junction where Chevet Lane meets Notton Lane and Bleakley Lane was described by a frustrated campaigner as the “worst in Great Britain”.

Coun Ahmed says a meeting at Wakefield Council is now planned for August to discuss the issue.