More action needed at notorious Boots Bridge road junction at Manea says councillor

A Fenland councillor has made an urgent plea to the county’s highways department to introduce further safety measures at a notorious junction.

Councillor Charlie Marks, who represents Manea on the district council, has written to Cambridgeshire Highways to make his heartfelt plea following a serious collision on Saturday at Boots Bridge involving a motorcyclist and a horse box.

In his letter, which he also sent to the road vehicle policing team, he said following the serious crash, which involved the motorcyclist being air-lifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, villagers’ feelings were “running high”.

He said the accident, which happened at around 5.48pm, at the Boots Bridge junction with the Sixteen Foot, was the second in two weeks and had occurred within weeks of the most recent safety upgrades to the crossroads.

Cllr Marks said: “As a councillor, husband, parent, and grandparent this time following I understand a complaint made by Cambridgeshire County Council to the monitoring officer at Fenland District Council Carol Pilson, I will ‘curb’ what I feel.

“However, I would ask that as a matter of urgency, you and your safety team revisit the issues with this junction and at least agree to ‘STOP’ signs being placed on the junction.

“In the long term if the accidents continue then the placement of traffic lights might be the only other option, this I know is very expensive, however, they have worked well at the other end of this road leading onto the A142.

He added due to “feelings running high” in Manea and the surrounding area he was copying the letter to various other councillors, and would also be posting it on Facebook, to allay suggestions that parish and district councillors are doing nothing to try to get more improvements to the junction’s safety.

When the most recent safety measures, which include new road markings, and signage, were unveiled at the beginning of last month there were suggestions that the ‘Give Way’ signs installed should have been replaced by ‘STOP’ signs then.

However, a county council spokesperson explained at the time: “The new signage and markings installed at the Boots Bridge junction have been carefully chosen as part of safety improvements and reflect the guidance which is provided to all traffic authorities by the Government.

“Using a ‘STOP’ sign, rather than ‘Give Way’, is only appropriate in locations with significantly reduced visibility, such as where traffic approaches from around a blind bend.”

However, it has been well-documented that despite the apparent good view in both directions there are blindspots at the junction.

There have also been concerns raised on social media over the speed of traffic along the Sixteen Foot, which often appears to be faster than the 50mph limit.