Call for more A1 central reservation gaps to close
BBCA Lincolnshire councillor is calling for the closure of gaps in the A1 central reservation to help improve safety on the road.
Councillor Elvis Stooke, who represents the Belmont ward on South Kesteven District Council, said too many accidents were happening at crossing points and he believed they should be shut immediately.
National Highways closed 14 crossing points last year and has plans for more closures along the route.
A further 41 gaps remain open between Stamford and Newark, but National Highways said closing them was a complex legal and technical process.
Stooke said the junction at Great Ponton, south of Grantham, was a particular black spot.
"Let's get these gaps once and for all closed. Let's save lives," he said.
"Obviously, there has been a few where there have been fatalities, and there have been some life-threatening incidents.
"We don't need to see this any more and I think it's time we started honouring what we said a couple of years ago, that we were going to close them. Well, let's close them now."
Jenny McKinlay, who lives nearby, said the Great Ponton crossing point was "an appalling junction".
She added: "How many people have to die on this road before they reduce the speed limit at the very least?"
Fiona Oxford, 50, has been a driving instructor for four years. She said she avoided taking students across the Great Ponton junction as it was "too dangerous".
"We wouldn't teach them there because it's not safe," she added.
However, Oxford said she had a near miss with a student, who lived in the village, on that junction.
Despite her safety concerns, Oxford said the Great Ponton crossing point should not be closed. Instead, she called for road signs to be put up to help prevent accidents.
"Lots of people want the Ponton one closed but I think that's not very beneficial for us who's in villages or farmers because they use it all the time and they use it safely, the ones that live here," she added.
Ian McCrae, 65, said the Great Ponton junction should be closed.
"It's too dangerous, there's too much traffic moving too fast," he added.
A National Highways spokesperson said: "Our focus remains on the safety of people using the A1 and we are progressing our plans for further closures of gaps along the route having shut off 14 last year.
"This is a complex legal and technical process, and we want to ensure that the decisions we make now will create a safer route and not simply shift the issues further down the road.
"As part of our ongoing investigations we are carrying out extensive surveys to monitor traffic flow and determine whether additional work will be needed at the junctions once the gaps are closed."
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