West Winch residents protest along A10 in bid to have new crossing installed and new access road
Children “dodging” HGVs and disabled residents being unable to cross safely led to a protest for a new crossing on the A10 today.
West Winch residents took part in a peaceful demonstration along the busy road this morning, and were joined by borough and county councillor Alex Kemp.
Among them were many who live at the East View Park Homes retirement properties, who have urged Norfolk County Council to put a new pedestrian crossing in place.
They say that when returning home from Lynn on a bus, they are forced into crossing the A road without any traffic calming measures in place.
And they also protested about their worries that new homes could be built in the village without a new access road (see below story).
One resident, Patricia Field, says there have been points when she has had to walk onto the A10 with her hands raised in a bid to slow down passing vehicles.
“It’s the lorries that normally let you over, but not the car drivers,” she told the Lynn News.
“I can see though, at some point, I am going to be hit on that road, and I am going to be hurt – because they don’t travel at 40mph half the time.”
Cllr Kemp has called it “crunch time for West Winch”, and said that residents at the likes of Lemuel Burt Way are also experiencing problems.
She and Ms Field both referenced what they believe is a high volume of crashes on the A10, and believe things will only get worse if no action is taken now.
“Retired and disabled residents at East View Park Homes, children, families and older people on Lemuel Burt Way, can’t cross the A10 safely to the bus stop now,” Cllr Kemp told the Lynn News.
“Children dropped off by the school bus on the opposite side of the A10 shouldn’t have to dodge the constant flow of traffic and HGVs.
“The A10 is like living on a motorway, with 20,000 vehicles a day, at least 11% of them HGVs.”
The county council was contacted for comment on the protest and asked whether a potential crossing is a possibility.
A spokesperson from said: “We are working hard to deliver the West Winch Housing Access Road which will significantly reduce the level of traffic on the existing A10 and allow us to introduce much needed improvements.
“This would include new crossings, reduced speed limits and weight restrictions which will improve safety and living conditions for local residents.”
Last month, the county council carried out two weeks of work to improve the junction and pedestrian crossing near the junction between the A10 Main Road and Chapel Lane.
This involved the re-positioning of some kerbs, the realigning of the crossing point with the central refuge island, installing tactile paving and upgrading signage.
The work, which cost £18,150, was funded via Norfolk’s new Road Safety Community Fund.