New speed limit for death crash road (From Watford Observer)

New speed limit for death crash Watford road

3:20pm Tuesday 9th March 2010 in News By Neil Skinner

A new 20 miles per hour speed limit has been imposed outside a Watford school – the site of a tragic accident two years ago.

The restriction, outside Laurance Haines School, in Vicarage Road, formally came into force on Friday morning with an official decree by Hertfordshire County Council.

Residents, parents and councillors, supported by the Watford Observer, demanded safety improvements after the tragic death of Pamela Bangs in March 2008. She was knocked down by drunk, speeding driver Scott Andrews on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 5, 2008. Andrews, who ran through a red light on the single track bottleneck outside the school and mounted the pavement, was later jailed for 14 years.

Furious residents claimed the road layout had been dangerous for a number of years, with more than 300 signing a petition demanding a reduced speed limit, safety barriers and speed cameras outside the school.

Although just one of these demands has been met, Labour County Councillor Nigel Bell said the change, which includes the introduction of two new speed cushions, represented a “major step in the right direction”.

He said: “I think this is very welcome news. We have campaigned for this for a long time. It shows what can be achieved when parents, residents, and, in this case, the local newspaper comes together to ask for changes.

“The residents didn’t get everything but this is a major step in the right direction.”

The new limit, from the junctions of Hagden Lane and Scammel Way, formally came into force on Friday morning, two years to the day since Ms Bangs’ death.