Safety barriers to be put up at three-death accident blackspot

Road safety barriers will be installed this month at a notorious accident blackspot which has claimed the lives of three teenagers.

The stretch of road near Skipton has seen two fatal road traffic accidents in recent years.

North Yorkshire County Council will be installing a safety barrier at Niffany Bends on Broughton Road leading into Skipton.

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The work is designed to prevent a repeat of the accidents in which vehicles left the road and ended up in the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Last year a crash claimed the life of 18-year-old Charlotte Wade after her car plunged into the waterway only yards from the spot where two other teenagers died in a similar accident.

Miss Wade was driving from Skipton on the A6069 Broughton Road with two passengers, when she lost control on a bend, crashing through railings into the canal.

Just over a year earlier Larissa Moore, 18, and Sarah Woolmer, 19, both from Skipton, died when the car they were travelling in left the same road and crashed through the railings into the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

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North Yorkshire County Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways and planning, said: "Last year the county council installed improved signs, lines and high friction surface dressing at the site and the new barrier will improve safety even further."

He added: "The county council understands the strength of public feeling about this site and has been able to use funding from the Service Centre Transportation Strategy to deliver the scheme in response to the public consultation exercise."

The 150,000 safety project at Niffany Bends forms part of the Skipton Service Centre Transportation Strategy.

It was approved by executive members for business and environmental services following unanimous support by North Yorkshire County Council's Craven Area Committee after a public consultation exercise.

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Preliminary work to divert underground cables has already been undertaken by British Telecom and contractors working on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council should complete the installation of the safety barrier by early December.

A feasibility study into the provision of the new barrier had originally indicated that it could lead to the loss of an informal pedestrian/towpath route at the site.

However following detailed design work it has been possible to retain the route behind the new barrier which will provide protection for vulnerable road users.

The railings behind the barrier will also be replaced and the pedestrian route will be resurfaced as part of the works.

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North Yorkshire County Councillor Shelagh Marshall, the divisional member for Mid-Craven, welcomed the move.

She said: "I am very pleased that these road safety measures will be in place before the winter weather sets in."

Miss Wade's parents, Graham and Julie, and her friends have campaigned for a safety barrier to be put up at the accident blackspot. Mr Wade has said that his daughter would have survived the crash if a barrier had been in place and has warned there would be another tragedy if a barrier was not erected.

North Yorkshire County Council carried out a feasibility study after a fatal collision inspection report drawn up with North Yorkshire Police.

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The report had also called for additional signing and lining safety measures to be implemented and the application of high-friction road surfacing.

These works were completed by North Yorkshire County Council last June and July.

The feasibility study had also looked into the necessity of street lighting for the site.

But it concluded that lighting was not required as it had not been a significant factor in any of the accidents at that location.