Norwich Road and Nacton Road top a list of accident hotspots in Ipswich, according to new crash figures.
Norwich Road and Nacton Road top a list of accident hotspots in Ipswich, new crash figures show.
Ten streets including Wherstead Road, Foxhall Road and Bramford Road had the highest number of crashes throughout 2016, with more than a dozen recorded in each.
A total of 30 accidents, with 23 people hurt as a result, happened in Norwich Road.
The A12 near Ipswich came second with 28, while the A14 in Ipswich was third at 27.
Julian Gibbs, Labour councillor for the Westgate ward, said it was concerning to hear Norwich Road came out on top.
He said: “It is a main route and it is very busy, although I am surprised to hear that it is worse than the A14 and A12 in and around Ipswich.
“There are a lot of side roads along the main stretch and sometimes accidents happen there, and equally there are a lot of people who use it.
“It is concerning and worrying that it has been named as the top in Ipswich, but I am confident the police will take action when needed.”
Carole Page, who also represents Westgate ward, said it could also be a factor that lots of vulnerable road users, including cyclists, use the road on a daily basis.
“You do see a lot of people using Norwich Road as you do with Foxhall Road, Nacton Road and the other ones listed which I think can be both a negative and a positive,” she said.
“It makes them more congested and busy and you see this more in the parts of Norwich Road which are closer to town.
“Further out though you do see some people speeding which could have contributed to the high number of accidents.
She added: “There are quite a few speed cameras though which should help reduce the number in the future. It is a long road though and a lot of people use it so I’d imagine that’s also a reason.”
A police spokesman said the roads listed are among the busiest and longest routes in and out of Ipswich.
“By virtue of this fact, it is therefore not surprising that they have seen the most collisions in the town,” he said.
“However despite this the numbers are not excessive – half of these roads average less than one collision every two weeks and the other half average only just more than one a fortnight.
“None of the collisions referenced involved serious or fatal injuries.
The spokesman added: “Suffolk police continue to promote road safety and encourage all road users – including motorists and cyclists – to consider their own safety and the safety of each other.
“We have increased the number of officers in our roads policing teams over the past two years, including the creation of the road casualty reduction team of officers on motorcycles.
“Our focus is on reducing the number of serious and fatal collisions and we are continually engaged in awareness and enforcement campaigns centred on the ‘fatal four’ main causes of these collisions – drink and drugs, speeding, mobile phones and seatbelts.”
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