Restaurant owners offer to sacrifice garden to make road safer

A Padiham restaurant owner has become so tired of her wall being repeatedly damaged by lorries turning round a tight corner, she has offered to sacrifice part of her garden to make the road safer.
Sylvia and Tony Seminara survey the latest damage to their wall.Sylvia and Tony Seminara survey the latest damage to their wall.
Sylvia and Tony Seminara survey the latest damage to their wall.

Mrs Sylvia Seminara said she was willing to lose part of the front garden at her restaurant, Mamma Mia’s in Whalley Road, so the road could be widened to allow more space for wagons turning left at the mini roundabout from Blackburn Road into Whalley Road.

Mrs Seminara, who owns the business with her husband, Antonino, said: “This is something I would be willing to consider.

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“Apart from the wall at the restaurant being damaged there is a road safety issue which we have highlighted before.

“If a pedestrian was stood on the corner when a wagon was turning there would be in real danger of being crushed.

“This problem has nothing to do with the roundabout, it is the left turn from Blackburn road onto Whalley road that needs to have signs stopping vehicles over a certain size trying to do it.”

The wall has been damaged at least three times in the past year and the couple are so fed up of footing the bill for repairs they placed their own safety sign at the junction which was crushed within days.

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A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said:“We’re grateful to the restaurant owners for considering options to reposition the boundary wall which could prevent the damage and create more room for vehicles to make the turn.

“When it is time for the lines to be repainted we will look at whether they can be revised to guide drivers to position their vehicles so as to avoid mounting the footway when making the left turn.”