Work will begin this month on a raised zebra crossing outside the Co-op supermarket in Canada Way in Lower Wick in Worcester after Cllr Alan Amos lobbied for change, securing funding for the project.
Cllr Amos, a city councillor for Lower Wick and Pitmaston, had hoped bollards could be installed at the spot to protect people using the cashpoint outside the Co-op.
PROTECTION: Cllr Alan Amos said he wanted to keep residents using the Co-op in Canada Way, Lower Wick safe and the crossing will help achieve this. (Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos) However, the county councillor for Bedwardine said the land in front of the shop is privately owned, and despite efforts to open talks with landowners, council workers have not yet had permission to have them installed.
Work on the new crossing (which will go near where the telephone box is now) is scheduled to start on January 20. The project will cost around £100,000 said Cllr Amos.
Half the money will come from the Highways fund and the rest will be ‘match funding’ from Worcestershire County Council, Cllr Amos explained.
ISSUE: A driver parks on double yellow lines outside the Co-op in Canada Way in Lower Wick in Worcester although the supermarket does have its own carpark (Image: Newsquest)
While Cllr Amos visited the site on Friday he observed two people parking on the double yellow lines outside the supermarket before heading inside, something he believes the new crossing will help prevent. The Co-op and other shops is served by a car park.
A section of dropped kerb will be raised as part of the work which Cllr Amos hopes may deter people from parking on the pavement or the land in front of the supermarket, near the cash point.
PARKED: A car parked on double yellow lines outside the Co-op in Lower Wick in Worcester on Friday (Image: Newsquest)
He believes the crossing’s zig-zag lines will further dissuade people from parking there as it is prohibited, deterring drivers from mounting the kerb onto land in front of Co-op ‘at speed’.
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Cllr Amos said: “I hope it will prevent future incidents and protect people using the cash machine outside the Co-op, particularly elderly people who have complained about it to me a lot. I am responding to the concerns raised with me by residents about an important issue I have tried my best to resolve.
“I’m delighted. It’s been a long haul but I have never given up. I have had a number of meetings with residents to get their ideas so we can deal with the persistent speeding problems.
“I have had council officers explore a number of options and I think we have come up with the best option. It took a while to get the funding package together and I have spoken to officers to make sure it’s done. I have also done my best to ensure any disruption to the flow of traffic while they’re constructing the crossing is kept to a minimum.
“We are also going to monitor the effectiveness of this. If it doesn’t achieve its objectives to stop dangerous parking, then I will consider further options. Hopefully this will deter people from parking selfishly.”