'It needs 24-hour enforcement' - Calls for longer and greater traffic measures after Stourbridge crash

Calls have been made for speed enforcement to be brought in at night in Stourbridge after traffic lights on the town’s ring road were destroyed.

The accident happened at around 11.30pm on Friday night when a car left the road and hit the lights at the junction of Church Street and Hagley Road, opposite Wetherspoon’s pub and close to the old art gallery.

Temporary lights have now been put in place with no date given for the repair of the main ones, or barriers surrounding them which were also damaged.

As far back as October last year, Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles called a meeting to discuss speeding and anti social behaviour issues in the town involving cars and bikes.

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At that meeting she said she was working with road victims charity Roadpeace to bring forward tougher legislation to tackle reckless driving and told how highway bosses and police were working together to drive down anti social behaviour on the roads.

The meeting heard police were also working to bring the speed limit down on Ham Lane in Pedmore where sessions monitoring the average speed of motorists on the stretch had taken place.

Speaking to the Express & Star today (Tuesday) after the ring road accident she said: “Yet another crash on the ring road underlines the need for measures to be urgently put in place.

“For years I’ve been been lobbying for the reinstatement of the speed cameras and for traffic police to be deployed in the evenings.

“Dudley Council has plans in the pipeline for traffic light cameras with noise detection but it needs to go further to end the scourge of reckless driving in the area.”

Steve Hancock, Conservative campaigner for the Wollaston and Stourbridge Town ward also said enforcement generally only happened during the day.

He said: "The issue is worse at night. This is why we are campaigning for the speed cameras to be upgraded to digital models, that will allow 24/7 enforcement that is clearly needed to make our streets safe. “