Parents await green light on £200,000 junction upgrade

Published on Tuesday 3 November 2009 08:50

ROADS bosses are set to spend £200,000 upgrading a dangerous junction after a spate of accidents in recent years.

Traffic lights are set to be installed at the junction of West Savile Terrace and Mayfield Road following a campaign by locals and parents at the nearby Sciennes Primary School.

There have been 18 crashes at the site in the past ten years, many involving cyclists, although only a handful were serious.

Parents at the school have been campaigning for the past four years for the lights, and will get their way if councillors back a recommendation by officials.

Norman Brown, chairman of the school's parent council, said the measure had the support of the vast majority of parents at the school.

He said: "Most parents will be really happy to see the lights go in, although there are some worries that some adjoining streets could turn into rat runs.

"It's been an issue that as children get to the later stages of primary school, parents still feel unable to let them walk to school alone because of the junction." However, local Tory councillor Cameron Rose said there were other measures the council could take to improve safety which would cost a fraction of the price.

He said: "At the moment, what is on the table is probably the most expensive option and it does not address other issues about the stop/start of traffic and the increased pollution it will cause. There are also other downsides, which taken together mean there are better alternatives.

"This is about local shops and businesses as well and it's more about cycling because it's cyclists who have taken the hit in terms of casualties."

He said alternatives included improving road signs and realigning the junction, both of which would cost considerably less than installing traffic lights.

A council spokesman said: "Residents and businesses have been consulted on the proposals and a report will go before the transport, infrastructure and environment committee on 24 November."

Last year community campaigners fighting for pedestrian crossings on dangerous roads were told they may have to wait up to 85 years.

Council chiefs admitted they only had enough cash to install or upgrade three crossings a year, meaning that at the current rate of progress, roads at the bottom of the priority list will not be tackled until the end of this century.

More than 250 roads in the city have been identified by campaigners and local politicians as being in need of pedestrian crossings, and the council is slowly working through the list.