Motorists on Broad Lane in Bramley are being urged to slow down before someone is killed or seriously hurt.
David Wilford, chief executive at community-led Bramley Baths, has issued an appeal following a number of near misses and accidents on the stretch of road outside the historic Baths. He told West Leeds Dispatch:
“Someone is going to be seriously injured or killed with the high speeds of some drivers.
“There is a problem with dangerous driving along Broad Lane and we are concerned as over a thousand children use the Baths every week. We have reported it to Leeds City Council and the police, who are keen to curb the reckless driving.
“We’d appeal to people to slow down for everyone’s sake.”
Mr Wilford said first aiders at the Baths had this week helped a man injured in a crash near the Baths. They supported him until paramedics arrived.
Broad Lane has a speed limit of 30mph – but Mr Wilford says the limit is ignored by some drivers.
Sgt Carl Robinson from West Yorkshire Police said a speed indication device had been deployed on Broad Lane as part of a wider crackdown of speeding motorists in Bramley. Sgt Robinson said:
“The Leeds West Neighbourhood Policing Team have been holding several days of action in order to address concerns regarding speeding motorists in the Bramley area.
“A number of locations are being targeted and officers will be using a combination of Speed Indication Devices and hand held cameras to ascertain the speed of vehicle’s passing through the area. If officers observe any vehicle offences that are being committed, vehicle’s will be stopped and offences will be dealt with proportionately.
“Several days of action have taken place to date, including on 23 May when a driver was arrested for driving whilst over the prescribed limit, two vehicle defect tickets were issued for faulty brake lights and a community resolution was issued regarding drug offences.”
Sgt Robinson said the Speed Indication Device had also been deployed on 29 May 2021 at Waterloo Lane, Bramley. It was also used on the 30 May at Leeds and Bradford Road, Broad Lane and again on Waterloo Road.
He added that traffic-related police patrols will continue in the future within these and other identified areas.
Bramley councillor Kevin Ritchie has encouraged people to contact him with any suggestions regarding areas of Bramley to be targeted in future days police deployments. He can be contacted at Kevin.Ritchie@leeds.gov.uk.
Cllr Ritchie backed Mr Wilford’s calls for motorists who exceed the 30mph speed limit to slow down. He said:
“We are pressing the police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team to do more checking. The council has invested in speed indication devices, which have recently been deployed more in Bramley.”
The stretch of Broad Lane from the Baths up to Swinnow Lane currently does not qualify for permanent speed cameras, although the stretch between Waterloo Lane to Kirkstall does have them. Mobile cameras are also used between Full Circle undertakers and Waterloo Lane.
A 2019 survey by Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves saw people identify Broad Lane as an ‘accident blackspot’ and in 2018 a reader called for the road to become a 20 miles an hour zone. A WLD poll at the time saw the following results:
