Plans to improve safety at Slag Lane/Frogmore Road

THE Slag Lane/Frogmore Road area of Westbury is set to benefit from a series of works in a bid to make the area safer. Concern had previously been raised about how safe the area is for pedestrians due to speeding cars, a lack of safety barriers for walkers and poor parking. 

At a recent highways planning & development (HP&D) meeting, Westbury Town Council identified three areas of focus; erecting safety barriers on the three footpaths from Lakeside View estate which lead to Slag Lane; adopting a scheme to prevent speeding; and looking at the potential for double yellow lines on Slag Lane to dissuade parking near the Frogmore Road junction. 

The town council is currently waiting to see if they are successful in their bid for funds from Wiltshire Council, in order to deliver on a substantive scheme to increase pedestrian safety and traffic control which could rise to £150,000. At the HP&D meeting, the council also suggested as an amendment to add chicanes to the scheme in order to help physically slow down approaching vehicles. The proposal for safety barriers has been put to Wiltshire Council separately from the substantive scheme as the town council will opt to pay for that from their current funds. 

Cllr Mike Sutton explained, “We do have £9,175 in the highways earmarked reserves, so we could easily make a contribution.” 

Cllr Ward Jones added, “We are awaiting the outcome of a bid for monies to deliver a substantive scheme relating to Frogmore Lane and Slag Lane. This has to do with pedestrian safety and traffic control. The cost could eventually add up to £150,000. The scene is competing with other schemes from across the county. We wait in hope, given that this area is used as a ‘rat-run’ and unfortunately some drivers seem to take delight in roaring along Slag Lane at well above 30mph. This is both dangerous and noisy and affecting the lives of residents.” 

The town council also voted to push plans forward to Wiltshire Council for double yellow lines, but a councillor said the decision could take up to two years, as it has to go through extensive reviews first. The issue was raised by an individual who lives in the area, but councillors are concerned it will create problems down the line, as it limits where visitors to residents on Slag Lane can park. 

During the public forum at the HP&D meeting, residents of Slag Lane and Frogmore Road explained about the traffic problems they are experiencing. 

One resident said “Yes, the junction in question on Frogmore Road is dangerous, but it is the only free parking for visitors to Slag Lane. The real issue is the amount of and type of traffic that use both roads, which is way more than its original intended use.

“Originally there were no parking restrictions on Slag Lane and since their implementation, the speeding issue has arisen. A lot of the problems at this junction come down to the fact that buses have to pull around parked vehicles.” 

As White Horse News reported in the last issue, the D1 service from Westbury to Warminster is set to leave every half-hour instead of every hour, prompting concerns over a build-up of traffic. 

Another resident asked, “Why do we have to have every bus service in Westbury take this route? Regarding the proposal to increase the D1 service from an hour to every 30 minutes, if anyone has driven down Slag Lane in the past four months, you can see the road isn’t suitable for this amount of traffic.” 

Residents had aired frustrations last month about how a £100,000 improvement scheme to address traffic and antisocial behaviour in the area did not go far enough.  

Cllr Jones gave an update on the works posed by the council saying, “It may seem that a significant amount of attention is being given to this area. That is so, but for very good reasons. Slag Lane/Frogmore Lane is undoubtedly a route which currently poses a serious danger to anyone on foot and a disturbance to the residents’ quality of life.”