Campaigners call for speed limit cut on major road

Organisers of a petition say lower speeds are desperately needed at Neville's Cross

Campaigners are calling for a speed limit cut on a busy city road.

People in the Neville's Cross area of Durham warn the current 40mph (64km/h) on the A167 is dangerous for pedestrians and want it reduced to 30mph (48km/h).

A petition has been signed by 250 people, while local MP Mary Kelly Foy has also backed the appeal.

Durham County Council said it would respond after the petition had closed.

Campaigners said: "It is not just a major traffic route - it is also a heavily used pedestrian and cycling route, relied upon daily by children walking to school, university students travelling on foot or by bike, and residents doing their shopping."

Neville's Cross Community Association said it had additional concerns about noise and air pollution.

The petition's organisers point to government figures showing pedestrians are five times more likely to be killed if they are hit at 40mph than at 30mph.

'Desperate for cameras'

Labour's Foy, who represents the City of Durham constituency, said it was "clear that the A167 should have a 30mph speed limit through the city, but we also need to see improvements at Neville's Cross junction and on Lowes Barn Bank".

She added: "With recent Department for Transport figures showing County Durham now has the most dangerous roads in the North East, it is time that real action was taken to make our roads safer."

Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner was recently told residents were "desperate" for cameras to catch speeding motorists, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The petition can be signed on the council's website until Wednesday.

Dave Lewin, acting head of transport and contract services (strategic traffic) at the Reform UK-controlled council, said: "We will be carefully considering this petition once it closes, in line with our normal process, and responding to the creator after that."