COUNCILLORS have taken up a residents’ fight for new road safety measures at a notorious junction in the district.

The politicians stepped in after householders living next to the Flappit junction, between Cullingworth and Cross Roads, raised a number of concerns at a recent Village Council meeting.

Village councillors have already spoken to police and have pledged to bring up residents’ concerns with Bradford Council’s highways officers.

And district councillors representing Bingley Rural ward, including Councillor Michael Ellis, are also due to talk to council officers and police.

Flappit is a four-way cross roads, which comes immediately after a sharp bend on the Denholme side of the A629 Halifax Road, and a steep incline on the Haworth roadside. It has been the scene of several serious accidents in recent years.

Flappit residents believe a pedestrian crossing is needed on Haworth Road in addition to the existing traffic lights. They claim speeding drivers approaching the traffic lights along Haworth Road often try to get through the green light before it changes to red.

They also say a recently-introduced bike lane has created a new danger because it forces cars to move further into the road. This means the buses and vehicles turning left into Haworth Road from the A629 Halifax Road cannot negotiate the bend because they could hit cars waiting in the middle of Haworth Road.

One councillor this month asked police about putting speed cameras on the A629 near the junction, but was told it was too dangerous for mobile camera vehicles to park on that stretch.

Cllr Ellis said that following the Village Council meeting, he requested Bradford Council highways engineers compile a report into problems at the junction. He said he and fellow ward councillors would have a “full and frank” discussion about the Flappit dangers during an upcoming meeting with police and highways officers.

He agreed there were particular dangers for large vehicles turning left from Halifax Road into Haworth Road.

Cllr Ellis explained: “If you’re a stranger you don’t know how sharp the bend is, and because you can’t see traffic coming from the other direction along the A629 you can’t pull out to go round the corner.”

Cllr Ellis hoped a pedestrian crossing could be provided through inexpensive adaptations to the existing traffic lights, but pointed out there was little money available in the council budget.

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