Petition launched to lower speed limit on A52 at Donington to 40mph

A petition has been launched in a bid to get the speed limit lowered on a busy road that is crossed by schoolchildren and elderly residents.

Joy Cox wants to see a 40mph speed limit along a stretch of the A52 outside Donington to improve the safety of people crossing the road and has so far attracted more than 220 signatures to her online petition.

Lincolnshire County Council has already agreed to lower the current 60mph speed limit to 50mph following a request by ward councillor Jane King.

The Donington councillor had made the application due to the increasing numbers of people crossing the A52 from Northorpe and Bicker Road since the arrival of the new Co-op at the top of Church Street. She would also like to see the addition of a traffic island in order to prevent pedestrians waiting in the middle of the road while traffic clears.

But the petition is asking councillors to go even lower.

The petition, on the change.org website, states: “A number of residents with small children, plus pushchairs have to cross the very busy A52 to get their children to school from Northorpe Road into Donington village.

“Also elderly residents who don’t have cars cross the busy A52 on foot on a regular basis to get into the village, some on mobility scooters. There are no amenities ie shops, post office, chemist etc in the Northorpe, everyone has to come into the village of Donington, crossing the A52 from the Northorpe Road to access Church Street.

“The new Co-op store was built on the junction of Church Street and the A52 and has resulted in significantly more traffic using the junction. it is an everyday occurrence for cars leaving the Church Street junction to pull out in front of fast moving traffic on the A52 and travelling at a low speed in readiness to turn down Northorpe Road creating a dangerous situation.”

The petition also expresses concerns about a ‘blindspot’ for drivers leaving Northorpe Road due to issues created by two unmarked bus stops along with highlighting the dangers posed by the lack of signage warning motorists of an unmarked pedestrian crossing.

It also highlights that lorries are parking up on both sides of the A52 in order to use the Co-op and fish shop — and that there is an entrance nearby to a working farm.

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