Doonans of Weymouth unable to get deliveries as 'road is too dangerous'

Harold Doonan, owner of Doonans, a ready mix concrete supplier located on McKay Close in Weymouth, said he is now unable to get deliveries because his suppliers say the road is too dangerous for their lorry drivers to go down.

Calls have already been made for double yellow lines along the road following the tragic death of a woman who was killed when she was hit by a reversing lorry from Lynch Lane, with Mr Doonan saying the road was 'another accident waiting to happen' due to the number of parked vehicles.

An inquest heard that Sarah Lewis, 62, of Weymouth, had been waiting for a taxi on Lynch Lane and decided to cross the road when she was hit as the lorry reversed into McKay Close.

A coroner said Ms Lewis was 'completely unaware of the lorry’s presence' after hearing that she was dealing with a face mask that was tangled in her bag.

Karl Stanton, the driver of the lorry, said he was forced to reverse the large vehicle because of the number of parked cars on Lynch Lane.

He said he turned off his radio, checked his mirrors and the road but could not see Ms Lewis, adding: "On that day I just could not see anybody at all."

Police at the scene of a fatal collision on Lynch Lane, Weymouth

Mr Doonan, aged 77, of Weymouth, said Doonans was the first business to develop on the industrial estate more than 45 years ago and currently employs 15 people. He said that over time the site has become 'grossly overdeveloped' and is worried about how his business is going to cope if he is unable to get deliveries made.

He said: "They are refusing to deliver. Cars are parked all over the the place and suppliers can not back their lorries into the road.

"Hauliers are saying that due to the fact there is so much congestion and that there has already been an accident, they don't want to take the chance - something has to be done here.

"We have one of our staff help guide the lorries in but cars are parking right next to the turning now, and lorries need that turning space to safely get in.

"These lorries bring sand and we need up to 110 tonnes of it delivered every day."

Following a site assessment after the accident, access protection markings were put along the road.

Access protection markings are white 'H' shaped lines, sometimes called H bars, painted onto the road to draw attention to a driveway or access. These white lines are advisory markings and have no legal standing.

Mr Doonan said: "Cars are parked on the white lines, they don't really mean anything at all.

"Nobody has been down recently to have a look, it seems like a bit of a lost cause.

"I feel for them too because because they haven's got premises to park on so they park their cars on the road, but everybody parks right up to the corners and it makes it impossible for lorries to turn."

Mr Doonan said he would like to see double yellow lines introduced and more policing of the parked cars on Lynch Lane.

He said that people park on the road and often leave their vehicles there for extended periods of time. He said that after the incident police came to look and a lot of the vehicles on the street were taken away. He said the road had been used as a "dumping ground" for abandoning vehicles and that despite the situation initially improving, he fears that the road is returning to a similar state as before the tragedy.

A Dorset Council Spokesman said: "The access protection markings that were installed in response to the fatality have been well respected. Obstructive parking is much less of an issue now than it has been in the past.

"We will ask the local PCSO to make another visit which will hopefully deter vehicles parking across the access protection markings.

"We will review the parking restrictions in the road and asses the current situation."