3:40pm Saturday 4th July 2009
A campaigner for safety measures at the site of the deaths of three teenagers says action taken at the location is thanks to “amazing community backing”.
Laura Preston, who is helping spearhead the call for crash barriers at Niffany Corner on Broughton Road, Skipton, welcomes the laying down of the “high friction surface” and “Slow” signs in the road.
But the teenager says that campaigners will continue to fight on until crash barriers are put up.
Her friend Larissa Moore, 18, of Skipton, died in April last year, along with Sarah Woolmer, 19, also of Skipton, when their car crashed through the railings and plunged into the Leeds-Liverpool canal.
The accident happened yards from where new driver Charlotte Wade, 18, of Gargrave, died in an almost identical crash on May 10, this year. Her car crashed into the canal and landed upside down. Her backseat passenger, 17-year-old Robin Gibbs, continues to undergo treatment at Airedale General Hospital, Steeton.
Miss Preston said: “I would sincerely like to thank everyone for their support and co-operation over the past few months.
“We are fully aware that the fight is not over yet, but progress is being made and the organisers feel that this is the direct result of the amazing community backing that we have had during this time. Special thanks go to anyone who has signed the petition, turned up at the protest or has been involved in the campaign.
“Our thoughts will always be with all the families affected by these tragic accidents and we are still as determined as ever to fight on to the end for those barriers.”
Barry Mason, head of network strategy for North Yorkshire County Council, said that the safety work would be in two stages.
As well as the roadway signage and work on the surface to increase grip, warning signs would be erected reading “Reduce Speed Now” on both approaches to the corner. But there were no plans to reduce the 60mph speed limit.
However, Miss Wade’s parents, Julie and Graham Wade, have made it clear that nothing less than crash barriers would satisfy them.
They believe that, had they been in place, their daughter would have been alive today.
Their campaign – for a lower speed limit and solid barriers alongside the canal in place of decorative railings – is supported by the Craven Herald.
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