Alderley Edge Bypass reopens following accident

Have the planners got this bypass wrong again? shud have been built as a dual carruageway because guess what in years to come ( and not that far off) that’s exactly what will need to happen due to traffic volumes and more and more housing and employment areas are built further out from a/Edge.Why can’t we get this right first time and build as a dual carriageway
You come off the wilmslow by pass as a dual carriageway and people think tha Edge one is too and that’s how these accidents are happening
How much longer before we get these things sorted at the outset??

Thanks Lisa Reeves for these community bulletins, they're much appreciated.

Here on Colshaw - Summerfields we are directly above the bypass and can hear the emergency services now..

Hope everyone is okay. No need for dual carriageway but the whole stretch needs no overtaking lines all way along. Overtaking is I suspect the main reason for collisions and is dangerous and pointless as drivers just end up one car ahead at the roundabouts. Plus a 50 mph limit would be sensible.

Let's hope everyone is ok.

Despite two high profile incidents in the last month, the accident stats for the Alderley Bypass are actually not that bad compared to similar length routes elsewhere in the county. In fact, since the bypass opened in 2010, there have been more reported incidents on the old A34 through Alderley than on the new one. And the A34 south of Monk's Heath is far worse on the stats.

What is concerning is that all of the serious incidents since it opened have happened at the Wilmslow end of the bypass - between the Brook Lane bridge and the northern roundabout.

Richard - I think the level of serious injuries suffered in the accidents on the Alderley Edge bypass are a cause of concern. Just looking at the quantity of accidents is not an accurate measure of how dangerous a road is.

I agree with Oliver Romain. The problem is always overtaking and those who choose to do it are from a similar arrogant mind-set and background.

Have the planners got this bypass wrong again? shud have been built as a dual carruageway because guess what in years to come ( and not that far off) that’s exactly what will need to happen due to traffic volumes and more and more housing and employment areas are built further out from a/Edge.Why can’t we get this right first time and build as a dual carriageway
You come off the wilmslow by pass as a dual carriageway and people think tha Edge one is too and that’s how these accidents are happening
How much longer before we get these things sorted at the outset??

And now we have had two more deaths, something need to be done now, before it gets worse due to the proposed development at the Royal London site

Since this stretch of the bypass opened, there have been 5 serious injuries and 2 fatalities involving cars on this road. No other roads in the Borough that I can see have this poor a record (http://www.crashmap.co.uk/Search). I think that something seriously needs to be done here before there are more deaths.

Alastair - I've looked at the link you supplied, and, filtering on serious and fatal accidents, it does seem to support what Richard Bullock says above about the bypass actually being safer than many other nearby roads... it has certainly has had fewer serious accidents than the old A34 road through Alderley Edge.

Indeed, the map shows clearly that the A34 as a whole (both single and dual carriageway sections) actually has far fewer serious accidents than most of the other surrounding roads... the density of serious accidents is much greater on A538, in the centre of Wilmslow and on the main road through Handforth, just to pick out a few examples.

What are you seeing that I'm missing?

Hi Jon. The site has obviously not been updated with the outcome of this recent incident and, when it is, it will show that this particular road, concerning fatal "car" accidents, has more than any other than I can see. Would I be able to disprove this if I spend more time than I have looking over the data? Maybe.

However, I guess what I'm getting at, notwithstanding "serious" accidents, is that this road appears to have a propensity to give rise to those which are fatal.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but this being the second fatal car accident since opening 7 years ago suggests to me that there is a problem with this particular stretch of road.

Crashmap is useful but it doesn't necessarily include accidents which the police have put down as primarily caused by other factors, for example, an accident as a result of drugs/alcohol.

Jackie: Crashmap uses the police data release for road accidents each year called Stats19. It's available for public download here: http://bit.ly/2dv25EE
Data is currently only available for up to 2016 until the 2017 release takes place - hence the serious accident last month won't be shown, nor will this incident until they go on. It only covers injury accidents that are reported to the police or where the police attended. This means that damage only accidents and some collisions classified as "slight injury" won't be recorded - however you would expect every fatal collision and most serious injury accidents to be on. If the police attended then I would expect most to be on the list.

The data goes into quite a lot of detail surrounding the circumstances of the incident: types of vehicles involved, age profile of the drivers and casualties, whether a vehicle was turning or overtaking, whether a vehicle skidded, went off the road or overturned, weather conditions / visibility etc.

Crashmap seems to give you the basic summary: location, date and number of vehicles/casualties involved - but wants you to pay them to see detailed reports (which you can get free from the official data release)

For instance, using this you can actually find out that one of the serious incidents reported on Crashmap on the Alderley bypass (18th Nov 2013) was actually 2 cyclists colliding and didn't involve a car at all.

Thanks Richard,

That's all useful information. I sent for information re accidents on Adlington Road and got data, but one I knew of didn't appear. I will take a look at Stanneylands Road data - went up there yesterday and I know they are widening it to allow for development but it is an accident waiting to happen.

Re the Alderley by-pass - I don't take it unless I absolutely have to. It was clear to me the first time I took it that reduction from 2 to 1 lane, albeit at a roundabout was dangerous. How much more dangerous is it going to be when a third lane is built for the Royal Lane Site?