Recent crashes on an “accident-prone” dual carriageway are unlikely to persuade highway bosses to change their mind about putting speed cameras in.
The “decades-long” campaign for more safety measures on the A405 was reignited after two cars crashed by the Greenwood Drive junction last week.
County councillor Tim Williams says the whole stretch of the A405 is a “concern” due to the “regular number of accidents” that occur, including by Greenwood Drive.
Read more: Crashes lead to new calls for speed camera on A405
Phil Bibby, who is in charge of highways at Hertfordshire County Council, says he recognises local issues are a “real concern” – but warned “community expectations” cannot always be met.
He also said it is “premature” to suggest speed may have been a factor in last Friday’s crash.
Cllr Bibby indicated concerns about the A405 have been listened to with the speed being reduced to 40mph on some stretches along with junction and signage improvements.
But the A405 does not appear in the council’s list of its most “hazardous” roads.
Read more: Why police and fire service shut St Albans Road
The councillor explained: “We carefully review records of personal injury collisions reported to the police and, sadly, every year there are over 2,000 of these on Hertfordshire’s 3,400 mile road network.
“As we do not have limitless core funding we must direct our resources to those areas where our work has the greatest potential to reduce the number of collisions, deaths and injuries on our network.
“We produce an annual county wide hazardous sites list, and this stretch of road, with one recorded personal injury collision in the last three years, has not been identified within this list.”
He added: “This location does not meet criteria for council funded cameras."
In the last few months, a road safety camera van, funded by Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, has been visiting the A405 to monitor driver’s speeds.
And although the council will not be directly funding a permanent camera, commissioner David Lloyd could be vital in getting one installed via an alternative method.
Cllr Bibby said: “The county councillor has a discretionary locality budget which he may choose to use. It is understood that an application has been made for Police and Crime Commissioner funding and a response is awaited.”
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