MORE than 150 Darwen residents have called on the borough council to removed traffic calming chicanes on Pole Lane claiming they have made the road more dangerous.

They have submitted a petition to its executive board and contacted authority leader Phil Riley on the issue.

Its meeting on Thursday night has been recommended to look at additional or alternative schemes to meet the residents' concerns.

A covering letter to Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board by lead petitioner Eileen Hall says: "The problem is not just speeds but the overall effect of the chicanes.

"They have definitely made the lane more dangerous and we still have the very high speeds."

The petition, which has 167 signatures including from 78 of the 87 properties in Pole Lane plus households in Stork Street and Craven Terrace, calls for 'the removal of the chicanes on Pole Lane because of unforeseen problems they have caused'.

It says: "They have been ineffective at reducing speeding and have created new dangers and have a negative impact on residents daily ."

The petition asks for 'a meaningful consultation to discuss alternative traffic calming measures which are acceptable to the residents'.

A report to the meeting from growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood says: "In 2021 a traffic calming scheme was introduced on Pole Lane in Darwen to address concerns regarding speeding vehicles along the route.

"The scheme comprised of a mini-roundabout, two priority give way features and some marked speed cushions (not raised).

"Since the scheme was introduced the Network Management team have been contacted by a local resident raising concerns about the scheme and campaigning for the priority give way features to be removed.

"The covering letter that was received with the petition claims that the traffic calming scheme has made Pole Lane more dangerous and they still experience very high speeds on the route.

"Following complaints from the lead petitioner, the council have undertaken investigations into vehicle speeds along Pole Lane.

"The speed data collected this clearly shows that there has been a positive impact on reducing vehicle speeds along Pole Lane following the introduction of the traffic calming measures.

"There is no evidence to suggest that the traffic calming scheme has made Pole Lane more dangerous, however we do appreciate that there is still an element of speeding that takes place.

"On receipt of the petition we have looked at the traffic calming again on Pole Lane and there are amendments that could potentially be made, which do not include removing the features, that would help further address residents' concerns about vehicle speeds along Pole Lane.

"Members are asked to agree to develop the existing scheme further and identify a funding source."