Neighbours welcome drastic measures to shut Great Lever road

Residents say they could not be happier after their street was blocked off to traffic.

Walker Avenue in Great Lever was blocked off towards the end of last month at its junctions with Cotefield Avenue and Lynsted Avenue.

The council initially said at the end of 2024 that it would block off the road following complaints that it was a hotspot for “dangerous driving”.

On January 23, an “experimental” Prohibition of Driving Order was put in place on the street, with very large concrete blocks being placed in the middle of the road to prevent vehicles from going through.

It is set to be in place for “a period not exceeding 18 months”, with the closing date for objections to the scheme being July 23 this year.

Resident Stephen Leyland said: “I welcome them, they are definitely slowing traffic up immensely. The area is not as busy.

Stephen Leyland (Image: Newsquest)

“In the summertime, some of these young racers used to come down at a hell of a speed.

“It is a good idea, I would like them to stay permanently. It is worth the very minor inconvenience of having to drive around.”

Neighbour Raja Khan said: “I think it is great. It has definitely calmed the street down with traffic, because the young drivers were just speeding up and down.

“In that sense, I have no issue with it at all. They probably need to make it more attractive but that is minor.”

Fellow resident Roy Bentley said he would like the council to put another concrete block in the middle of the other two, but that otherwise it is “brilliant” and “fantastic”.

He added: “The traffic used to fly down the road all the time, it was like a racetrack.

“It is the best thing they ever did.”

Sally Price (Image: Newsquest)

Sally Price added: “I think it is a very good idea, cars used to speed up here.

“They used to come up really, really fast, especially at night, it used to frighten me to death.

“That was why it happened originally, people said they wanted some deterrent.”

Muzamal Hussain has been particularly affected by poor driving on the street, with his garden wall having been knocked down by a driver a few months ago.

He said: “I think it is a brilliant idea, it has made the road a lot safer, and I think the majority of people are in favour of keeping the road closed.

“People were using it as a racetrack.”

Residents could not be happier about their road having been blocked off (Image: Newsquest)

Other residents echoed the sentiments that there was a lot of speeding on the road, with some saying that there need to be signs at each end of the Walker Avenue to say that that it is a no through road.

One resident was sceptical about the new installation, however. She said: “I think they’re absolutely ridiculous.

“You get a lot of people coming up to them and then having to reverse back.

“There are no signs saying no through road.”

Though she did say that drivers used to use the road at high speeds.

Another resident, who wished not to be named, added: “I am really happy with them, cars were zooming down before them.”