Over 100 Levenshulme residents, organised with ACORN the community union, gathered in socially-distanced groups of 5 in Greenbank Park to deliver their 435 signature-strong petition to local councillors, demanding Manchester City Council slow down Matthews Lane.
Lack of traffic controls on Matthews Lane, and the problem of speeding cars, has severely impacted the people of Levenshulme. Matthews Lane is home to houses, businesses, and schools, and is connected to a large number of residential streets.
There have been multiple accidents caused by speeding on Matthews Lane, including a recent hit-and-run on a 3 year old girl.
She was hit by a driver who sped down Matthews Lane and spun onto Damien Street, where the girl lives. The children on the street report that the driver regularly does laps up and down the Lane, which a local racer has admitted “is a race-track.”
Determined to force Manchester City Council to find a solution to this life-threatening problem, Levenshulme residents who live, work, and go to school around Matthews Lane have united as members of community union ACORN to demand that something is done.
The 435 signature-strong petition was delivered to local councillors Dzidra Noor and Basat Sheikh today by affected local residents.
Residents from each street stood in socially-distanced groups wearing PPE and delivered speeches on how the problem has impacted their lives.
The petition itself was then delivered by the children of Damien Street, where the hit-and-run accident occurred, who report they have been “terrorised” by the speed of the cars spinning off the Lane onto their road.
Arya, 6 years old, from Damien Street, said that the speed of the cars make her feel “scared and sad”. The group have also distributed posters reading ‘Slow Down Matthews Lane’ which can be seen stuck in windows in the area as a sign of overwhelming public support for the campaign.
Khadija (age 10) spoke directly to Cllrs Noor and Sheikh about the hit-and-run accident on Damien Street: “t he cars scare us every time they go past, and even after this [the accident] has happened, people don’t listen. They carry on to drive fast, they don’t even listen.
Manchester City Council’s Director of Operations for Highways Steve Robinson and Dave Smith, City Wide Highways Manager – both of whom have huge decision-making power – declined the invitation to attend today, as did Councillor Angeliki Stogia, Executive Member for Environment, Planning and Transport.
In tandem with the action, the group also conducted a mass emailing session today, writing emails to these absent individuals demanding they take urgent urgent action to slow traffic on Matthews Lane and prevent further accidents.
