Crash sparks call for buses to avoid road

A road smash has sparked neighbours to call for buses to be re-routed away from their busy residential street.

Windows were smashed in when a Blackpool Transport bus collided with a lorry on Central Drive, Ansdell.

Nobody was injured in the crash, which happened on Friday afternoon, but Central Drive resident Mark Smith, 54, says concerns over safety are growing on the road.

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Yet the company claims passengers who use a nearby library are in favour of keeping the route as it is.

Mr Smith, who has lived on the street for 20 years, said: “My neighbours and I all agree that the buses drive very fast and rather aggressively.

“We do sympathise with the bus drivers because they have to drive down roads with loads of parked cars.

“We’ve always been concerned about the speed the buses go and the size of the buses. We feel it does need to be reviewed.”

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The vehicle involved was a Blackpool Transport single decker Number 11 bus, which runs between Lytham and Grange Park.

Bob Mason, the company’s director of delivery, has pledged a full investigation into the incident.

He added: “There are a lot of customers who use Ansdell library (on nearby Commonside) and the feedback we’ve had from these customers is they’d be very unhappy if we were to pull the service off that road. It’s obviously an unfortunate accident, there will be a full internal investigation.

“We understand nobody was seriously injured.

“There is some damage to our vehicle.

“We treat all these incidents with the seriousness they deserve.”

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Coun Richard Redcliffe, who represents the Ansdell area on Fylde Council, believes there is “no easy answer” to the issue of re-routing.

He said: “I would personally say that re-routing would solve some issues and create other issues.

“There is no easy answer to this.

“We have explored the possibility of looking at other routes in the past.

“It is an issue that we’re aware of in Ansdell and my own view is you would perhaps increase safety at a price of convenience.”

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