A SECOND collision in under a week on a busy main road has raised serious concerns about the safety of motorists and pedestrians.
A lorry and two cars collided yesterday morning at rush hour on the A590 between Barrow and Ulverston at Swarthmoor, close to the Urswick turn-off.
The crash came just days after a similar crash between three vehicles occurred on the same stretch of road less than half-a-mile from the Cross-a-Moor crossroads.
Both collisions caused long tailbacks as motorists faced long delays.
Joyce Tam, 52, who lives in Bank Terrace, Lindal, on the A590 itself, thinks that drivers don't slow down for bends and motorists need to be more careful when commuting to and from work.
She said: "I've got a little fence outside of my house and it amazes me how fast some people go. There is a bend where the speed limit drops from 60mph to 40mph and a lot of cars are not keeping to the limit on that bend.
"There have been fatalities on that road before and I don't know personally what the solution is to make it safer but the road is a blackspot.
"You have got to watch your speed and make sure that you are slowing down when you reach bends because you never know what you are going to encounter. If you are going over the speed limit you are putting lives at risk."
Sarah Braithwaite, 35, also lives in Bank Terrace and alongside Mrs Tam, she is leading a campaign to against plans for a concrete batching plant close to the A590.
She said: "One of my main objections to the plant is that there are going to be 40 or 50 movements a day from lorries coming in and out of the junction of the A590.
"These will be carrying more than 44 tonnes of material and with the junction being on a hill, lorries will struggle to be able to turn onto the road quickly.
"The road is already dangerous enough but cars will not be able to slow down quickly enough. I see near-misses on the road every day and I cannot see how having slow lorries turning in and out of junctions will help matters."
South Lakeland district councillor, Andrew Butcher, also opposes plans for the concrete batching plant and called on leaders to get together to tackle problems on the A590.
He said: "It takes drivers from Swarthmoor ages to turn onto the road and it is not safe for children whatsoever. Plans for a concrete batching plant will just create serious problems for everyone. If we have wagons coming down the road it will just create even more congestion and traffic which will not make the road any safer.
"If you don't have these hold-ups, people will be able to get to work much faster and drivers won't be in so much of a rush which is when accidents happen.
"I think we all need to get around the table and talk about ways to make the A590 safer for everyone. At the moment, the road is too narrow so it needs to be made wider and we just can't afford to make a bypass.
"People will always need to travel to work because you don't make pennies otherwise but we need a good road system to keep the economy ticking in Barrow."
Yesterday's crash involved a Mercedes lorry, a Ford Fiesta and a silver Mercedes car, all of which were damaged.
The Mercedes was being driven by a 23-year-old man from Barrow and the Fiesta was being driven by a man from Barrow.
None of the drivers suffered any major injuries following the collision.
The debris was removed from the road following the crash but a large amount of fluid, understood to be oil, created slippery conditions on the road.
A second crash also happened at 10pm last night at a roundabout where Park Road meets Mill Brow in Barrow.
The motorist, a 27-year-old man from Wigan, managed to walk away unhurt from the car, which had been severely damaged.
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