RESIDENTS’ calls for a pedestrian crossing on a busy road are to be considered by council chiefs following an investigation by the Standard.
The road which the town’s people think causes a danger to pedestrians lies between the Marks &Spencers garage and the A38 roundabout on the Worcester Road.
Vice Chairman of Worcestershire County Council Tony Miller agreed to order an assessment of the area after The Standard asked several passers-by if a crossing was needed in the area.
The issue of safety was raised by Coun Richard Morris at Monday’s Droitwich Town Council meeting.
Coun Miller said the Safer Roads Team said ‘perception’ of speed there was greater than the number of speeding cars.
Michael Day, a blind residents, said: “It’s a problem for me because I’m blind. I use this road a lot but I can’t see the traffic so I have to listen for cars. It would be very nice to see a pedestrian crossing here.”
Norman Taylor who has lived in Droitwich for 64 years said: “ It’s difficult to cross at busy times. I think it would be very useful to see a crossing. The council waste a lot of money on occasion so they would say it’s costly.”
Resident Carol Moseley also said: “I’ve had real trouble crossing the road . They come out of the garage to turn left and they don’t look right, I’ve almost been knocked down.”
Youngster, Lucy Bacon said: “I find it takes a while to cross. It’s a bit dangerous but I guess you have to wait for the right moment.”
In response, Coun Miller told the Standard: “I will ask for an assessment to take place. So the first step is for officers of the County Council to carry out a safety audit to establish if there’s a need for a crossing – and if there is, to identify the correct location for it.”
He added: “At this stage I would not like to promise a crossing because it would first need to tick all the boxes like safety, correct location, plus recommendations from departments including police.”
Coun Miller said the average cost of a crossing is £40,000 to £100,000. He said if a need for a crossing is established he ‘would put the case forward’ to get it financed.
