People are calling for a safe crossing point on an “extremely dangerous” road where a pedestrian was killed last week.

The 52-year-old man died after he was hit by a car and the driver fled the scene at the junction of Barrington Road and Manchester Road in Altrincham at 3am on Sunday January 26.

A 26-year-old man later handed himself in to police and they arrested him on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Since last year, residents have been building a petition calling for a safe crossing point on Barrington Road.

Mum-of-two Rachel Pleasant delivered the petition on behalf of residents to Trafford Council at a full council meeting on Wednesday January 29.

She said: “Traffic flow is often heavy in both directions, especially at peak travel times. Often pedestrians are forced to cross and wait in the middle of the road before a vehicle will stop to allow safe crossing.

“Many school children must cross this busy road each day to get to some of the local primary and secondary schools and increasingly have to wait longer to cross.”

Prior to the fatal incident this weekend, there had already been concerns from residents that a serious accident could occur if a safe crossing was not made available.

Rachel quoted her own 11-year-old son during the meeting.

Her son said: “I often feel nervous setting out for school, knowing I have to cross that road.

“I try to pick a safe point to cross but people never stop to let me go and I often feel I have to take a bit of a chance. I know my mum worries about me getting knocked over, so I try to be as safe as I can, but sometimes the cars go so fast.”

The intersection where Barrington Road meets Sandiway Road and Gaskell Road is of particular concern.

Rachel added: “The road here is also very wide, long and straight so traffic often appears to travel well in excess of the speed limit. Also, the large radius of the junctions with Gaskell Road and Sandiway Road enables cars to turn without needing to slow down significantly, while leaving pedestrians with a very wide expanse of road to cross before reaching safety.

“There is a great deal of support for the proposal and it is hoped that a crossing will be considered.”

A number of councillors at the meeting expressed their own concerns about the area, with Coun Nathan Evans, Conservative group leader admitting “you take your life in your hands” when crossing the road there.

Executive member Coun Stephen Adshead explained if a crossing does end up being put in place on Barrington Road it will have to go through “a complicated process” involving Transport for Greater Manchester.

He added he was keeping tabs on the situation, it was being looked at properly and “it won’t get forgotten about.”

In response to the petition, council leader Coun Andrew Western said: “While nobody would be opposed to this in principle, there is a process that needs to be followed.

“We will wait for Transport for Greater Manchester to come back to us with their findings. I think it’s important so we can manage expectations that that will be a safety-based audit and it is important that the audit that is undertaken is independent of [the petition].

“Therefore approval of crossings across the borough and indeed across Greater Manchester are done on the basis of assessed need.

“Nonetheless this is an area that I know extremely well. There are a number of issues along Barrington Road and speeding is certainly one that I will take away and raise with the local constabulary.

“We will endeavour to push TFGM to get that audit completed as quickly as possible and to keep you updated throughout the process.”