Stoneleigh Road residents demand footpath after hit-and-run...

A group of residents have contacted the council after a number of people being hit on the road



People living on a busy road have called on the council to install a footpath after a resident was hit by a van.

Gam Amar, who lives on Stoneleigh Road in Coventry said he was walking his dog Rio when he was struck and knocked to the ground - with the vehicle failing to stop at the scene.

The incident was reported to the police and Coventry City Council - and residents said it was not the first time a pedestrian had been hit.

Councillor Mattie Heaven said issues had been ongoing for years, despite the speed limit being reduced to 30mph, and added that the area needed more signs.

A group of residents said they met with the council in April, after sending letters and holding meetings over a "number of cases" where people were hit by cars.

The road, which is a key route linking Coventry and the University of Warwick to the A46, only has a footpath along a quarter of its length.

Beyond this residents said navigate the road via grass verges and driveways, with a narrow track stopping at a railway bridge halfway down the road.

Mr Amar, speaking on behalf of the group, said: "We have been living here for 23 years.

"We take the dogs for a walk each day but we can only cross the railway bridge on the one side because there isn't the room on the other side.

"It is quite a narrow path - the grass and leaves mean you are having to walk closer to the road."

He said his dog pulled him away from the road after he was hit by a van.

"It was a big van but I was unable to get a photo of it and then four cars followed it and not one stopped and they blocked the view.

"They could see that I had fallen. I was thinking that if my dog hadn't been there I'd have been in the road and it could have been a lot more serious."

The group also said pedestrians are at risk of slipping in wet weather due to the muddy conditions.

Mr Amar said he asked the council if they "were waiting for a fatality before something happened".

The Conservative councillor, who represents the Wainbody ward, backed the residents' call for action.

She said: "It is the right of every resident to have a footpath.

"There was a petition about four years ago asking for speed reduction measures and having a pavement.

"When the council promotes active travel then this is not the way to do it, we have people stuck in their own homes.

"We are asking the council to take this seriously, act on it soon and not to wait for someone to die."