“We just need to get this sorted”
06:06, 17 Sep 2025Updated 06:29, 17 Sep 2025
The junction of Leicester Road, Middleton Road, and Bury Old Road.
Pedestrians are playing ‘Russian roulette’ with their lives at a busy junction due to a lack of safe crossings, a councillor has claimed.
The area sits where Bury Old Road meets Middleton Road and Leicester Road on the boundary of Salford and Manchester, close to Crumpsall Hospital.
Salford councillor Ari Leitner said changes are urgently needed to improve safety and stop people having to ‘dash’ between cars to cross.
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It comes after reports of two girls, both aged 16, being injured on September 6 after an evening collision.
Coun Leitner said he wrote to Salford council in 2022 asking for a review of the junction, but nothing was done.
The problem, he says, is the lack of pelican crossings, meaning cars are moving at all times without a gap for people to get to the traffic islands safely.
“There’s no way for pedestrians to know when they can and can’t cross, and it’s a miracle nothing’s happened until now,” he said.
“You’re playing Russian roulette, you’re standing at the junction and all you can see is the lightest next to you, you can’t see the traffic lights at the other three streets, you’ve no idea if they’re about to start going.
“We just need to get this sorted. I know it’s going to cost a lot, it’s going to be a massive job, it’s probably going to be a project of £1m and upheaval of six months, but it needs to be done. This is saving lives, it’s what people pay their council tax for.”
The Conservative councillor claimed that when he wrote to Salford council about the issue in 2022, the Labour-led authority ‘said there’s no record of accidents, typically brushing it under the carpet and moving on.’
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He added: “It’s all nice for councils to promote walking but it’s not safe, these are 16-year-olds walking ten minutes to college and this is great, but how can someone let their children go to school knowing it’s not safe.
“There’s a lot of accidents on that junction, a resident who lives on the corner recently told me that there’s an average of two a week, not every single one is reported to the police, most of them are quite serious because it’s usually one car that’s trying to turn and the other one coming fast.”
Coun Mike McCusker, the lead member for planning, transport and sustainable development at Salford council, said: “We are aware of community concerns at this site which sits in both Salford and Manchester.
“We have investigated the recorded injury collision history and consider that there is no pattern of collisions that would indicate a common deficiency with the junction arrangement.
“Any proposed improvement could be a renewal of the junction, delivering improved pedestrian and cycle facilities whilst balancing the needs for bus and other road users at this busy junction.
“We are currently exploring funding opportunities working together with Manchester City Council and TFGM [Transport for Greater Manchester] and any future funding allocation will need to be balanced against other priorities across the city.”
Manchester council was approached for comment.