Safety improvements are being considered at the North Yorkshire crossroads where a crash claimed the life of a teenage student.
Ellie Hague, 16, died at the scene when the minibus carrying her and eight other students was in collision with a car near Tadcaster Grammar School on 1 December.
It happened on Toulston Lane in Tadcaster, at the junction with Rudgate, at around 12.28pm that day.
Two weeks on, Kirsty Poskitt, who represents Tadcaster on North Yorkshire Council, says many people have shared their concerns about the junction and the stretch of road that leads to the school.
“The lived experience of those who use that road regularly is invaluable at this time and whilst I fully appreciate that it should never take such a terrible loss before change happens, those local voices will hopefully help lead to changes,” she said on Facebook.
On Friday, Cllr Poskitt met with Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director for environment, and Allan McVeigh, the head of network strategy for highways and transport, to talk through the next steps.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke, MP for or Wetherby and Easingwold, joined us for the meeting “and his support will be invaluable when it comes to dealing with the broader issue of Google maps and other apps not identifying that junction as a crossroads,” Cllr Poskitt said.
“Of course there is an ongoing investigation but until that is complete North Yorkshire Council have been looking at the site and looking at what changes can be made short and long term.
“It was very important to me that before any decision are made we listen to people who know the road best.
“Early in the new year we will be meeting Karl and Allen on site with representative’s from the school, school transport and a Toulston resident so they can share their thoughts.”
Crash location
Many people are concerned about the road layout. Two residents responded on Facebook to say they had lost loved ones in crashes there.
Another wrote: “That junction as always been a major issues with many accidents and sorry to say deaths.
“The upward sweep of the hill stops you seeing the road crossing until to late. Buses cant stop at top if iciy and have to cut into oncoming traffic to get out.”
