St Albans mother wants traffic measures for dangerous lane

Nicola MacKinnon, whose son Sam was hit by a car in September 2013, wants traffic calming measures to be put in along Hill End Lane.

A schoolgirl from Beaumont was recently discharged from hospital after being hit on the road a couple of weeks ago.

Mrs MacKinnon, 44, from the Sovereign Park estate, said: “I worry about the speed on the road because pupils from Beaumont and Nicholas Breakspear walk over the road to get home.

“It is a 30mph road but no-one does that.”

There have previously been calls to slow the speed of traffic on the road, but to no avail.

Mrs MacKinnon said: “I was talking to someone in the park after my son was hit and I said something should be done about the road.

“They said there had been campaigns in the past but the council had said there is no need for measures.”

The Herts Advertiser reported in November on the safety of the road after “countless” pet-owners said their cats had been hit by cars in the area.

Debbie Lavelle, who had lost three cats on Hill End Lane, told the Advertiser at the time: “The problem is people are using that road as a cut-through, and they’re driving at the most ridiculous speeds.

“I sit in my living room and I can’t hear my TV because of the noise of people speeding.”

A Herts county council spokesperson said: “Road safety is of paramount importance to us and we regularly work with schools and young people to promote safety on our roads.

“When we plan work, we prioritise the locations which have the greatest potential to reduce the number and severity of collisions occurring.

“To do this, we analyse data from our annual hazardous sites report and personal injury collision data, received from the police.

“We have reviewed the most recent data between November 1 2011 and October 31 2016 for the section of Hill End Lane, and can confirm that there is one recorded collision which involved a pedestrian and that resulted in a personal injury.”