Plea for speed cameras on Leeds road after teenager's death

A CALL has been made for speed cameras to be installed 'immediately' on a Leeds road where an 18-year-old was struck by a car and killed.
Kate WhalleyKate Whalley
Kate Whalley

Kate Whalley suffered fatal injuries last month when she was hit by a black Ford Fiesta ST on the A660 Leeds Road near the junction with Old Pool Bank at Pool-in-Wharfedale.

Campaigning residents have been calling for speed cameras to be installed on the road for around two years.

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Kate’s father Michael, 54, asked a Leeds City Council highway’s representative for traffic calming measures to be installed on the A660 at a Pool-in-Wharfedale Parish Council meeting around a year ago.
Now Pool in Wharfedale Parish Council chairman Coun Hazel Lee has called for action to be taken in a letter to the Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan.

Floral tributes at at the side of A660 Leeds Road in Poo-lin-Wharfedale where Kate Whalley was struck by a car.Floral tributes at at the side of A660 Leeds Road in Poo-lin-Wharfedale where Kate Whalley was struck by a car.
Floral tributes at at the side of A660 Leeds Road in Poo-lin-Wharfedale where Kate Whalley was struck by a car.

She wrote: “Leeds parish councillors, Leeds City ward councillors and residents including Kate’s family have all raised concerns about the speed at which cars travel on this road, particularly as it meets the dangerous junction with Old Pool Bank Road.
“The (parish) council is left deeply frustrated at the lack of any action from the highways department at Leeds City Council.
“Parish councillors are calling for the immediate installation of speed cameras to slow down traffic before the Old Pool Bank/Bar House junction.”

A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said: “We offered our deepest condolences to Mr Whalley and all of Kate’s family and friends for their tragic loss. Leeds City Council officers have met local residents and councillors on several occasions in recent years to discuss a range of highways issues in the area, including the location of this accident. The West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership are responsible for the location of speed cameras and we will send Coun Lee’s comments on to them.” A West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership spokeswoman said: “We are awaiting the outcome of the police investigation.”

Kate Whalley was just a few minutes walk from home in Pool-in-Wharfedale when tragedy struck.

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The Harrogate Grammar School student had caught a bus home after sitting her penultimate A level exam when she was hit just after 4.30pm on June 22.

The Fiesta driver, a 22-year-old man from Harrogate, was arrested and released pending further enquiries.