A COUNCILLOR has renewed calls for further traffic calming measures in a Blackburn street following another road smash.

Cllr Hussain Akhtar said more safety measures need to be introduced in East Park Road, Shear Brow.

The latest incident happened on Monday afternoon when a Vauxhall Meriva left the road and crashed into a lamppost close to Corporation Park.

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There were no other vehicles involved and no reported injuries but the car was left severely damaged.

In February last year, homes in East Park Road were evacuated after a car being pursued by police smashed into a wall, hit a gas main and caused a major leak, and a wall was damaged in another crash shortly after. In March, traffic calming measures in the form of a large speed bump were introduced on the notorious road.

Cllr Akhtar said that many people in Shear Brow had been calling on Blackburn with Darwen Council to install more traffic calming measures and a zebra crossing.

He said: “Yet another crash on this road shows how dangerous it is.

“Pedestrians need to be protected and I get calls all the time about the speed that cars go on the hill.

“Parents have told me children are turning up late to school because it takes them so long to cross the road.

“The speed ramp is just the start, this road needs a crossing, it’s a matter of safety. It’s not safe for children.

“We have several primary schools and St Mary’s College is nearby.”

In response to the issue a spokesman for Highways for Blackburn with Darwen, said: “If we were made aware of specific locations of concern on East Park Road, a pedestrian count and traffic survey would need to be undertaken to see if a pedestrian crossing could be justified. It should be noted that East Park Road does not have a history of pedestrian accidents, so there are no plans to install a crossing at this location.

“With limited funding available for such schemes, budgets must be prioritised to alleviate those areas of the road network where injuries to road users are already occurring.”