An urgent plea to revisit safety measures at a busy Fenland junction was made by a local councillor after a motorcyclist was seriously injured. Cllr Charlie Marks has called upon Cambridgeshire County Council to act swiftly and replace ‘SLOW DOWN’ warning signs with ‘STOP’ signs on the approach to Boots Bridge junction between Manea and Wimblington.
In open letters to officials, Cllr Marks says he is asking for the police department that investigates serious accidents to look urgently at Boots Bridge.
He says the county council refuses to accept it is an accident ‘black spot’.
Cllr Marks said that the latest incident on Saturday “resulted in the casualty being taken to hospital via the air ambulance”.
The crash happened at about 5.48pm and involved a white Renault Master horsebox and a black Husqvarna Svartpilen motorcycle.
The motorcyclist, a 40-year-old man from March, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
The horsebox was being driven by a 39-year-old woman from the March area who was not injured.
Cllr Marks said: “This is the second time the emergency services have attended the junction with in two weeks and less than 3 months since the safety upgrades made to the cross roads”.
He said: “As a councillor, husband, parent, and grandparent I would ask that as a matter of urgency that you and your safety team revisit the issues with this junction and at least agree to ‘STOP’ signs being placed on the junction.
“Longer term if the accidents continue then the placement of traffic lights might be the only other option; this I know to be very expensive, however has worked well at the other end of this road leading onto the A141.”
He said the junction has had a number of serious incidents for a number of years “which seemed to escalate some 4/5 years ago when the bridge leading to the cross roads was replaced, however I do have a press cutting from the 70’s stating it was an accident black spot then”.
Cllr Marks said other parish, district and councillors have raised concerns concerning the placement of signage, signage itself, speed limits and vision impediment caused by the barriers and a nearby parking bay (not designated as a lay-by) with Cambs County Council highways officers and managers.
Improvements were made and completed at the beginning of August.
B1093 and B1098 Boots Bridge junction in the Fens gets a safety overhaul
“Unfortunately, since its finishing just 3 months ago there have been a number of near misses by vehicles entering the carriageway and worse in the last 14 days there has been at least two serious accidents which has meant that the police and ambulance have both had to attend.”
He described recent changes as “inadequate”, and he is concerned that a ‘Give Way’ sign on the right hand side of the B1093 has gone missing.
“The red tarmac leading onto the junction from the B1093 is already breaking up,” he said.
“Concerns have been raised over weed growth when trying to enter the B1098 from Wimblington direction, a number of weeds have obscured drivers views of low height cars.
“Vision can be obscured by vehicles being parked in a pull off just before the bridge from the B1098 direction. The larger the vehicle the more difficult it is to see oncoming traffic coming from Chatteris direction.”
Cllr Marks concluded: “To summarise it would seem that although one factor could be driver error by not stopping at the junctions leading onto the B1098, other factors may be needed to be taken into consideration as above and also the signage we believe is not as clear as it could be as the “Give Way” signage should be replaced by a “Stop” signage as a minimum or even better traffic lights.
New road marking and signage improvements were put in by the county council “in response to local concerns to improve road safety”.
The East of England Ambulance Service confirmed one of its vehicles fell into the ditch following a crash with a car in 2023 while responding to an emergency.
“The driver of the car was transported to hospital with minor injuries, while the ambulance crew sustained cuts and bruises,” according to a spokesperson.
