Speeding menaces face curbs

Measures to clamp down on motorists speeding along a Black Country road are finally set to be hammered out.

Residents in Vicarage Road, Amblecote, have long called for action to stop cars hurtling past their homes.

Householders say there have been a series of accidents along the route, especially on a bend near Stourbridge's former Corbett Hospital. They fear lives are being put at risk as drivers continue to ignore the 30mph limit, and say that previous measures have not dealt with the problem.

Highways officers at Dudley Council are now set to begin talks to discuss new ways to tackle the menace.

The first discussion will be held on February 4, with early ideas already being worked on by officials.

They want to bring a range of options to the first meeting so the most suitable can be decided quickly.

Among the options are installing a pelican crossing or zebra crossing to give pedesrians priority and slow down traffic.

Amlecote's Councillor Pat Martin, said: "People have been very concerned about this for a number of years and we have called for measures to be looked at.

"A meeting has now been set up. It will not be held until February because highways officers at the council wanted to develop some ideas before the talks actually started.

"Previous measures such as red markings being painted on the carriageway have failed to have much of an impact. More direct measures are needed to deal with this problem."

Councillor Martin added: "Hopefully we can have a firm idea decided on quickly and get it installed.

"The sooner we can clamp down on this problem the better. It has been very dangerous along that stretch of road for a long time now and it is about time something concrete was done about it."