WESTBURY Town Council is considering installing a two-metre-wide pavement at the lane where Slag Lane meets Frogmore Road, to improve pedestrian safety in the area.
The stretch of road next to the lake is often used by dog walkers and residents who walk from the estate at Frogmore into town.
However, because there is no pavement, pedestrians currently are forced to walk on the road.
The area has also been highlighted as a hotspot for speeding and motorists often wrongly use it as a cut-through to get to the industrial estate from town.
Councillors voted for the highest possible intervention at a meeting of the highways, planning, and development committee of the town council on Monday 16th January.
This intervention would include installing a two-metre-wide pavement which would narrow the road considerably, with the suggestion it would also force cars to drive at reasonable speeds.
Also included in this plan is the proposal to install 20mph signs. Wiltshire Council is calculating the costs of the scheme.
Funding may be considered under the area board’s substantive bid for funding, whereby the scheme is assessed for its value for money and deliverability. Councillors were presented with a range of options at the meeting, which included painting dashed white lines to indicate the pedestrian walkway and installing a 20mph sign, which would be cheaper, to constructing the two-metre-wide pavement.
Cllr Sheila Kimmins said, “Painting lines on the road in this area will not work to combat the issue. Frogmore is a long stretch of road, and I can see safety issues stemming from cars trying to push past one another if there is a pedestrian present. We need a proper pavement to offer adequate protection.
“We’ve also had complaints from residents about the speeding of traffic there. Installing a pavement will narrow the road and inadvertently slow down traffic. While making the area 20mph would be good, how we would enforce this? The pavement seems the best option and goes some way to alleviate the concerns of pedestrians and residents there who want to use the area.”
Cllr Gordon King said he believed the plans would satisfy residents in the area.
He said, “There is strong evidence to suggest that narrowing a road will work to slow down vehicles, as motorists will slow down if they see a hazard. Some motorists currently see the area as open road and they can pick up speeds quickly- anything we can do to make it safer for pedestrians would be welcomed.
“This scheme has huge merit as it meets the objectives set by residents, it creates separate zones for both motorists and pedestrians, and it will work to slow down cars that use the area. This is the only way the road will have any sense of improvement.”
Westbury North and Wiltshire councillor, Carole King, says that motorists should remember that the area is a shared space for both car users and pedestrians.
Cllr King said, “We know we can’t just stop traffic using these roads, but we do want to remind them that this is very much a shared space. Pedestrians need to feel safer than they do now and those using it as a cut through need to think again.
“This is such a fantastic area of Westbury; it’s just right for a nice walk with the dog or showing the children the ducks in the pond. It is well used by people, but as highlighted when I last visited the area, it is also well used as a cut-through. Some speeding cars only slowed down because pedestrians were already in the road.”
