Worried Hartlepool shopkeepers petition council for speed bumps amid fears someone could be killed

Around 30 businesses including shopkeepers, local nursery workers have signed a petition to Hartlepool Borough Council urging measures to slow vehicles down on Murray Street.

They are asking for speed bumps to be installed as soon as possible before tragedy strikes.

As well as a number of shops and businesses, Murray Street also has a children’s day nursery and is close to Lynnfield Primary School.

Ary Ahmed, who runs Ary’s barbers, started the petition after witnessing vehicles travelling up to an estimated 70 miles an hour, despite the road having a 20mph limit.

He said: “We’ve got a nursery and school, so it’s always full of kids.

"The way people drive in the street it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens.

"Sixty, 70 miles an hour, that’s how fast they drive. I thought ‘let’s do something about this’.

"It’s a big concern for all of us. I went around all the shops and nursery and they all put their names down.”

Ary said while a number of other roads near primary schools in the town have traffic calming measures, Murray Street currently does not.

The council approved a 20mph limit for Murray Street in September 2018 after requests from residents and ward councillors.

But Ary added: “We don’t have speed bumps. We don’t have anything.

"If you have kids you want them to go to school and come back safe.

"We all agreed that having a couple of speed bumps will absolutely save lives in Murray Street.”

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesman said: “We have not yet received a petition but once we do it will be considered in accordance with the council procedures for dealing with such requests.”

In October, dozens of Mail readers said which roads in the town where they would like to see changes including additional traffic calming measures and reductions in the limit.

And just last month a leading motoring group called for more 20mph zones after new figures show 20 children in Hartlepool have been knocked down in the last four years.

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