“Our road is a menace”, say family who’ve lost two cars to reckless motorists

By Joe Coughlan. Local Democracy Reporter

Residents of a Greenwich road have asked the council to add traffic management measures to their street, claiming ‘atrocious’ driving has led to one car even going up in flames.

Greenwich council has been asked to engage with Lewisham council on adding a pedestrian crossing to Winn Road. The petition, signed by 107 people, claimed that Lewisham council had failed to introduce safety measures to the road.

It added that drivers often used the area as a rat run, with lorries frequently passing through the streets.

The petition said: “Significant parts of Winn Road, Guibal Road and Mottingham Lane are in Greenwich and are experiencing greater volumes of traffic, particularly in the rush hours, which is detrimental to our safety, and quality of life with air and noise pollution also significant issues.”

Residents of Winn Road also sent a petition to Greenwich council to add traffic-calming measures to the road in 2019. Susan Thomas, 66, lives in Winn Road with her husband and son and has had to suffer the consequences of reckless driving more than once.

Ms Thomas said: “My son’s car went up in flames, ours was a write-off. The car that hit it went into the wall over the road, went straight through her wall.

“Then last year, April time, our car got hit again. This time it was 4am, a brand new car written off. We had to wait about four months for a new car. It’s been absolutely atrocious.”

Labour councillor Averial Lekau, cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport for Greenwich council, said in response to the petition that the authority was only responsible for approximately 100 metres of Winn Road, with the maintenance of the street being primarily the responsibility of Lewisham council.

She said: “The council can’t prevent people from choosing to drive over the speed limit. The police enforce speed limits, and we would encourage residents to report speeding vehicles to the police.”

The cabinet member added that she was not aware of any proposals from Lewisham council on the issue, but was happy to engage on the topic. She said that officers had reached out to the authority on her behalf to confirm whether there were any upcoming plans.

Pictured top: Susan Thomas, who lives in Winn Road with her husband and son (Picture: Joe Coughlan)