Blind Prestatyn man forced off path by dangerous drivers
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jul 31st, 2019
Drivers using a private road at the back of people’s houses as a shortcut are putting lives in danger, says a blind man who has already had some close calls with motorists.
Barry Pike, 83, from Sandy Lane in Prestatyn, has been blind from the age of nine.
He pursued a career in the aerospace industry in his native Coventry, but says his hopes of finding a quiet life in retirement in Prestatyn have been dashed by dangerous drivers.
Mr Pike said that, since a “no right turn” sign has been put at the top of his street, drivers coming from the direction of Rhyl on Victoria Road and wishing to turn onto Sandy Lane have been taking a shortcut down the back of his house on an unadopted lane.
He said he’s had close calls as he walked to the nearby shops along the path.
“The problem is there is a ‘no right turn’ at the top of the road and there are traffic lights, so they take the right turn down the drive at the back of my house,” said Mr Pike.
“It’s a bypass, a short cut. It means I can’t use my back gate and it means that great holes are created on the path.
“It’s all rough. You can get holes that are a foot deep.
“I’m totally blind. I can’t see a thing, and people with pushchairs and wheelchairs have to get out of the way of vehicles driving across the pavement. It’s entirely against the law.
“I have had near misses. I go down the path and there is something coming up and I have to get flat against the wall.
“I’ve been down there and big lorries have come down and they’ve taken the roof off my shed.”
His wife Dorothy, 79, said: “It’s safer to go the back way, and a lot of the elderly people want to walk through there to get to the chemist because it’s quicker. One lady broke her hip.”
Mr Pike now wants the council to act and has called on it to install bollards at the top of the lane.
A spokesman for Denbighshire county council said: “Officers have spoken to affected property owners about this matter on a number of occasions.
“The section of road is a private road which provides access to a number of properties, and installing bollards would potentially prohibit access and as such would require the agreement of all affected property owners.”
By Shane Brennan – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).