Mill Road traffic chaos after car is trapped under lorry

There was traffic chaos on Mill Road as a car coming out of a side street became trapped under a delivery lorry turning in the road, today (July 27).

Although there were no injuries reported, police had to be called to help release the car which was in collision with the lorry at the junction of Sedgwick Street and Mill Road.

The bridge on Mill Road has been closed to all traffic except cycles and buses since last month to help facilitate social distancing for pedestrians. Residents say that near misses are happening on Mill Road every day as the delivery lorries reverse into side roads to turn around to avoid the bridge.

Now, furious residents and traders who are tired of the constant danger are planning a protest march on Saturday to highlight the problems.

A police spokesperson said: “We were called at about 9.38am today (27 July) with reports of a collision between a lorry and a car on Mill Road, Cambridge.

“Officers attended the scene. No injuries were reported but the road was partially blocked while the vehicles were moved.”

One of the witnesses, Mill Road hairdresser Piero D’Angelico, said; “These sorts of manoeuvres happen several times a day since they put the road barriers in and closed the bridge. If anyone takes a walk on Mill Road they can see what is happening all the time. This was not happening when the bridge was open.”

He added the situation was particularly dangerous for cyclists: “We can’t even count how many incidents there are with bikes. When lorries get to the bridge and suddenly realise it is closed they back up, sometimes really fast, and the bikes don’t realise what they are doing and almost crash into the back of them. It’s really dangerous.”

He also said that signs saying the bridge is closed are frequently knocked over by reversing vehicles so other drivers arrive at the bridge unaware of the closure.

“The lorry drivers are not local so if they don’t see the signs they are surprised by this bridge closure,” he explained.

Another incident happened on Friday when a reversing lorry became stuck on bollards at the entrance to Tenison Road.

Piero said: “He was reversing and intending to go back down Mill Road because he wasn’t allowed to cross the bridge. I think he didn’t see the bollards that are there to protect the pavement. All the traders and local people came outside and brought wooden pallets trying to lift the wheels and get him moving but he must have caused some serious damage to his lorry.”

Pamela Wesson, who owns the shop Fantasia on Mill Road, said: "We are organising a march from the Petersfield playground towards the bridge on Saturday to highlight this issue again. The build outs are so dangerous. My friend almost got crushed by a bus as it overtook her while she was cycling along Mill Road. the whole thing is unsafe and useless."

Cambridgeshire County Council, who decided to implement this new traffic system on Mill Road last month, were asked to comment about the safety implications of their bridge closure. They responded: “We believe there is enough room on the highway for lorries to manoeuvre in this area. However, we would like to urge everyone to take extra care on the roads at present – and to pay particular attention on roads where there have been changes to the usual layout to allow for social distancing.”