Wimbledon News
Bollard to blame for recent Wimbledon crashes, residents claim
8:10am Tuesday 7th February 2012
Residents have called for the removal of a problem bollard which has taken the blame for several car accidents in recent weeks.
The complaints have arisen following a crash on Thursday, February 2, when a woman driving a silver people carrier ploughed into the traffic island when turning right into Worple Road from Wimbledon Hill Road at 5.25pm.
The road, connecting the village to Wimbledon town centre, was shut in both directions for two hours while the driver was cut out of the car and treated for neck injuries, while her 11-year-old daughter was unharmed.
Sarah Davies, a lettings manager at Haart Estate Agent at the corner of the junction, said she knew of eight accidents which happened in exactly the same way since the middle of November.
She said: “To date I am surprised that no action has been taken.... In my opinion it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or worse.”
Sarah England, a nurse who lives in Griffiths Road, Wimbledon, saw Thursday’s incident reported on our website and revealed she had crashed at the same junction on December 20, 2011.
She said: “I don’t see why a bollard of that shape has to be there in that position and I think there is an issue with drivers in people carriers trying to take this corner when it’s dark.
“I don’t believe for a second I was driving carelessly or too fast.
"I slowly turned right and felt a crash, thinking I had been hit, but it was the traffic island. My car was completely written off.
“The council needs to seriously think about whether it needs to be there at all.”
Councillor David Dean, who represents Dundonald ward at Merton Council, witnessed Thursday’s crash scene and said the council needed to remove the bollard, which protects pedestrians standing on a traffic island.
Coun Dean said: “It was exactly the same colour and make as my car and so I got a nasty shock when I saw it.
“I told Councillor Andrew Judge at a Street Management meeting [in June 2010] there should be more space for cars to turn right there.
“They need to move this island back and cars should also be allowed to turn right from Worple Road into the town centre.”
Coun Judge, Merton Council’s cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration, said: "Merton Council takes road safety extremely seriously and is concerned at the recent incident at this junction.
“This junction is very busy so we have added new road markings already to highlight the presence of the traffic island and further road markings will be provided to guide right-turning traffic safely around it.
"The police are investigating the incident and council engineers will work closely with them to identify the cause of the incident."
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