Vehicles could be banned from a busy town centre street in Penrith which has been abused by boy-racers as a late-night race track.
A strict prohibition of all traffic is looming on Burrowgate in the wake of speeding drivers doing loud circuits in the early hours of the morning at weekends.
Under new proposals, all vehicles would be prohibited from using Burrowgate between 10pm on Saturday night until 3am on Sunday for 18 months.
Residents in the area say nearly every weekend is blighted by:
- Drivers continually speeding and over accelerating
- Noisy modified exhausts and blaring horns
- Near misses on the zebra crossing outside the Spar shop
- “Discos” being held in parked-up cars
A Burrowgate resident said: “Anyone who lives here will support this ban because every weekend night until The Warehouse shuts is like the Wacky Races with idiots screeching round in souped-up cars.
“If anyone disagrees they really need to focus their blame on the appalling driving which has led to it. This is a very busy part of town at weekends and residents accept it’s going to be loud till late, but there’s a very small minority of drivers showing off by filming and timing themselves doing laps.
“It’s a miracle no-one has been wiped out on the zebra crossing outside the Spar. The prohibition needs to be for all three weekend nights and properly enforced with hard barriers, because these drivers show a total disregard for street signs, the Highway Code and friendly words from the police.”
In a letter to residents, Westmorland and Furness Council did not specify the reason for the proposed move. It is understood a trial took place over the busy Christmas period. The ban would close a strip of road leading from the Spar to Burrowgate’s T-junction with Middlegate.
Drivers could still use Sandgate, Meeting House Lane, Portland Place, Corney Place and Middlegate — but the unofficial circuit would be broken up.
However, it would also mean slightly diverted journeys for taxis, buses or people collecting takeaway food.
Both staff and guests of the George Hotel use its rear car park off Burrowgate and need access.
Deputy hotel manager Richard Bailey said an agreement was in place to maintain that arrangement as it had a round-the-clock check in, and guests could be hit by travel delays.
Mr Bailey said it remained to be seen whether the prohibition would require barriers like on Botchergate, Carlisle, or would be enforced by cones and police officers.
“From a safety aspect I think it’s a good idea, especially as there are people moving between pubs in the area, the Woolpack, the Pinny, the Grey Goat and the Warehouse,” said Mr Bailey.
The council is informally seeking the public’s views. The prohibition could also be brought in during “other significant occasions,” although the council did not explain what these might be. In the letter to residents, the council’s highways department said any prohibition first required public consultation.
Depending on the appetite, a formal Experimental Traffic Regulation Order would then be drawn up.
Any prohibition would include flexibility so that changes could be made to the order in the first six months if it proved too onerous.
Penrith Town Council, as a key consultee, was asked its opinion but it has not yet decided its view and plans to agree a position at its next meeting of the full council on March 25.
People wanting to comment should email laura.mclellan@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk or write to the Traffic Management Leader, Skirsgill Depot, Skirsgill, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2BQ.
The deadline is Friday, March 29.
