The petition, which was started by UoN student Elliott Silver, is directed at Nottingham City Council and demands changes to the safety measures on Derby Road. Given that Derby Road cuts through Lenton and is busy both in terms of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, particularly at rush hour, it is unsurprising that the petition has quickly reached over 1200 signatures since it was posted on November 30th.
‘something was not quite right with this section of the road’
Silver stated that even though he had only lived in Lenton for less than one semester, it was ‘abundantly clear’ that ‘something was not quite right with this section of the road’. Silver claims that he has witnessed multiple car accidents outside his window.
‘I was on the bus back from my lectures on Wednesday, and I had seen another accident involving a car and a pedestrian near the Sainsbury’s Local. I was just so angry because this should not be a regular occurrence on a single road.’
Silver was ‘surprised’ to find that so many students agreed with him. On the petition page, those who had signed listed their reasons for doing so, some noting that they had witnessed multiple accidents as well.
‘Where I come from in London, there are lots of precautions with road safety, and very few accidents happen as a result.’
Silver has argued for making the road more pedestrian-friendly, indicating that he’d like to see marked crossings for pedestrians as well as speed detection cameras and signs to prevent and detect dangerous driving.
Along with friend Callum Adler and SU Community Officer Jacob Collier, Silver took the petition to the city council, who have agreed with the issue and are making steps towards increasing safety by monitoring the road to identify the hazards.
Esme Johnson
