Fed up south Manchester residents are calling for changeA crashed car near the junction of Wilbraham Road/St Werburgh’s Road(Image: Wahid Akhtar)

Fed-up neighbours in south Manchester have started a petition calling on the council to take action at a ‘racetrack’ junction.

People living near the junction of St Werbergh’s Road and Wilbraham Road in Chorlton say accidents frequently take place at the crossroads, with John Bamford even recording incidents last year. He noted down 16 collisions in nine months, or nearly one every fortnight.

“Wilbraham Road has always been a speedy little thing,” said John, who’s lived near the junction since 1988. “St Werburgh’s Road to Wilbraham Road to Mauldeth Road is a rat run to get on to Princess Parkway.

“There’s a woman in one of the flats across the road who says they treat Wilbraham Road like a racetrack. She has raised with the council but nothing has been done.”

Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here

Both John and neighbour Wahid Akhtar told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last autumn crashes usually occur when ‘people want to come down St Werburgh’s and turn right’ and ‘they watch the right but get traffic coming from the left’.

Now, another resident has started a petition calling on Manchester council to take action.

“We, the undersigned, petition the council to put in three more sets of traffic lights on all the roads at that junction,” said the petition, created by Daisy Brazenell.

(Image: Wahid Akhtar)

In the petition, Ms Brazenell said a ‘crash’ occurred on June 25. She added: “If you can prevent these crashes, why wouldn’t you?”

Previously, the LDRS contacted the council to see if it will install traffic lights in the area, but a spokesperson did not give a definitive answer.

They did however say ‘all reports of incidents’ were ‘taken seriously’, but funding needed to be spent ‘based on potential risk’.

The council’s statement in full added: “While all reports of incidents on our road network are taken seriously, the Council has to prioritise areas of spending based on priority and potential risk.

“Decisions around new infrastructure spending must be made based on where they are needed most, and where their implementation has the best chance to reduce accident or injury.”