Demands for action on grass over accident fears
Grass verges along one of the busiest roads in South Staffordshire should be ripped out as they are an "accident waiting to happen", campaigners demanded today.
The calls come after more than a month of pressure by residents and councillors to get overgrown grass cut down along the A449 Stafford Road.
Residents of Coven Heath say the verges get so out of control, they cannot see cars as they pull out on to the busy dual carraigeway. They say the problemis particularly bad around Ball Lane and junction two of the M54.
Highway bosses have been forced to cut the grass earlier than expected due to it growing more rapidly this summer and the mounting pressure campaign.
"We regularly inspect our network as part of our planned maintenance programme, with the safety of road users and road workers being our absolute priority," the Highways Agency said. "We are aware of overgrown grass at Ball Lane which was recently cut and was due to be cut again at the end of August. However, as the grass has grown rapidly, we cut the grass last Thursday to enable road users to have adequate visibility."
Linda Tomkins is a parish councillor for Brewood & Coven Council, representing Coven Heath. She has been among those calling for safety improvements to the road, which is used by thounsands of motorists each day. She said she would like to see a more permanent solution to the problem.
David Short, who lives in Ball Lane, is the interim chair of Coven Heath Community Association Committee.
He said: "They should just rip up the grass that is affecting visibility. It would save money rather than have them coming out every few weeks to cut it."
"This has been a problem for residents in Coven Heath for a while. When you pull out of Ball Lane you can't see any cars until they are right on top of you. It is a national speed limit road but cars speed up when they see the green lights at the island and this made it a problem for us.
"It is an accident waiting to happen and it is a result that the Highways Agency have finally cut the grass. It is interesting that they were going to leave it until the end of August. I think by then we wouldn't be able to cross the road for our safety."
