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Coroner slams 'city's most dangerous road'

Laura Kenny
6/ 3/2008

A CORONER has labelled a Blackley road dangerous after a promising young golfer died at a notorious accident blackspot.

Christopher Barrett, a member of North Manchester Golf Club, was tipped to have a bright future in the game and had recently been accepted into the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).

An inquest heard that the 20-year-old, who had been playing golf since he was 11 and had worked at the Bowlee Driving Range, Middleton, died after losing control while speeding on a bend at Victoria Avenue, last July.

His Volvo S60 went into a spin near to the junction with Munn Road and ploughed into a lamp post on the opposite side of the road. He died the next day in Hope Hospital from massive head injuries.

A police accident investigation confirmed the car would have been travelling in excess of the 30mph speed limit, leading to the loss of control, and front seat passenger Paul Jackson said he thought Christopher had been driving at about 50mph.

But Manchester’s Deputy Coroner, Leonard Gorodkin, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said Victoria Avenue must have had more fatalities over the years than any other road in Manchester.

He said: "This road is so open it just invites speed and this is a case of a young man driving too quickly and losing control.

"This is a sad and tragic death of a young man who was just establishing himself in life."

It is believed four people have died in accidents on the Avenue close to where Christopher died and over the past three years 35 casualties have been recorded at its junction with Rochdale Road.

A spokesman for Manchester City Council said they had already introduced central road markings and cycle lanes to try and reduce the number of collisions on the road and that the speed limit had been cut from 40mph to 30mph.

He said: "The Council has been taking progressive steps to improve the safety of Victoria Avenue. Two of the fatalities have been at the area between Tweedle Hill Road and Kingsmede Mews junctions.

"We currently have a temporary camera on the road and we are actively investigating the proposal to install a permanent speed camera.

"In the meantime the City Council is investigating the implementation of road improvements including high visibility bollards, carriageway markings and signs to make drivers aware of the bend."