Aldi lorries shown the red light by traffic campaigners in Barnston
Speed watch members Barry Hayes and Brian Hanney, with Councillor Vic Ranger. - Credit: Archant
Traffic campaigners have put the brakes on a supermarket chain’s heavy goods vehicles travelling through their village.
Aldi has agreed to fit a tracker system to all of its vehicles to ensure its employees use the A120 and A131 to go to and from Chelmsford, instead of the B1008 through Barnston.
The move comes after Uttlesford district and Barnston parish councillor Vic Ranger wrote to the company, questioning why its drivers were still using the road instead of the recommended alternatives.
Cllr Ranger, who said residents “suffer from the noise and vibrations” caused by the vehicles, told the Broadcast: “We are extremely pleased to report that Aldi stores has responded very positively to our overtures.
“We wrote to Aldi with the hope it would make a difference. For them to come out and say they are going to fit trackers is fantastic. It is a great example to put to other companies when we write to them.”
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He added: “The B1008 used to be an ‘A road’ but it is not any longer and there is no need for the heavy good vehicles to use it. The route is not fuel efficient for them and it is not safe for people in the village.”
Letters will now be sent to other haulage firms using the B1008 to encourage them to take the same action.
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But even with this latest accomplishment, Cllr Ranger says there is “still a lot more to be done” to improve the safety of Barnston roads, which he claims see 10,000 traffic movements a day.
Top of the priority list is getting a pedestrian crossing built on Chelmsford Road, while also stopping drivers from speeding through the village.
On Tuesday the Community Speed Watch team clocked some drivers hitting speeds of more than 40mph, in a 30mph zone.
“It is generally unsafe for the majority of residents,” Cllr Ranger said. “We do not want to put up speed cameras but that is the final solution to get people to slow down.”
