Huntingdon town centre needs traffic-calming measures

Published: 11:58 AM August 26, 2009 Updated: 4:18 PM November 1, 2020

IT has been nearly two years since the new learning centre and handicapped accommodation was built on the southeast corner of High Street and Hartford Road in Huntington. It has now been just about a year since my approaches to the council and highway aut

IT has been nearly two years since the new learning centre and handicapped accommodation was built on the southeast corner of High Street and Hartford Road in Huntington.

It has now been just about a year since my approaches to the council and highway authority for better pedestrian access across the busy High Street/Hartford Road "switchback", as well as traffic calming and parking measures, were ignored.

In contacting them, I hoped concern for both the handicapped and more able residents forced to run for their lives across Hartford Road in order to access High Street or local grocery shopping would cause them to seek a solution. Instead I was told there were plenty of places inside the ring road to safely cross when there are in fact none.

The dangers of Hartford Road's current configuration as a high-speed shortcut across the ring road were again brought home to me two weeks ago, when a taxi hit my car parked just across from the Montague Club on Hartford Road. His speed might be a matter of some dispute but suffice to say his front left side hit my right rear panel so hard that this glancing blow knocked my car three feet forward and one foot over onto the sidewalk, both bending the front rim and breaking the rear axle. The taxi was so damaged it was unable to move from the spot where it ended up.

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Fortunately, no one was hurt but as the father of an autistic 12-year-old, it clearly reminded me of the dangers of the current traffic pattern on Hartford Road to all residents. I also wonder why we are seeing a virtual wall of multi-story public buildings springing up in town to replace outdated ones while the only change to the equally questionable 1960s ring road concept is construction of that dubious bus lane. I also wonder where all the money is coming from to build the traffic measures in the Stukeley's while the centre of "pedestrianised" Huntingdon is a raceway seven days a week.

Maybe someone in town knows, because the council doesn't seem to notice.