Drivers breaching one-way system put lives at risk, warn councillors

Several near collisions with vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists have been witnessed by residents as motorists ignore the one-way system on King Street and drive in the wrong direction.

Motorists are continually turning right out of Minshull Street to get onto Egerton Street, councillors were told.

Knutsford town councillors are now calling for safety measures to be installed.

Mayor Cllr Stewart Gardiner told members at a full council meeting: "We need to do something sooner rather than later because I think somebody will get killed.

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"I have personally had a contretemps with a female driver of a large vehicle who said she could go that way because she lived there. She clearly didn't because I saw her turn in another direction.

"There is regular misuse of the current traffic regulations.

"The police did undertake a mini action one day to try and catch a few people."

Knutsford Police beat team monitored traffic travelling from Minshull Street into King Street and issued fines to drivers caught breaching road signs and driving regulations.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: "Over recent months, officers in Knutsford have received a number of reports from concerned residents reporting motorists turning the wrong way from Minshull Street onto King Street.

"To help tackle the issue, offices and police community support officers have been conducting regular operations in the area and issuing fines to any offending motorists."

Cllr Peter Coan said: "I've seen drivers performing that dodgy manoeuvre. The solution is simple, put a movable bollard in the road, that will solve the issue."

Cllr Matthew Robertson said: "We need to try and lobby Cheshire East Council, sooner or later someone will die."

Cllr Andrew Molloy said: "I reported a vehicle that nearly had a head-on collision. The police did prosecute.

"We need to understand why this is happening. Is it just people taking a short cut, to avoid congestion on King Street or just because they are coming from the north and live in the centre of town?

"We need to find a solution. I don't think a bollard would work. Building up the kerb to make it much more difficult for cars to swing round would be better."

Councillors voted unanimously to write to Cheshire East Council, urging the local authority to resolve the problem of drivers contravening the one-way system.

Cheshire East ward councilors for Knutsford have a combined budget of £12,600 for highway improvements in the town, councilors were told.