Pedestrians 'dice with death at crossings'
A major junction has been without pedestrian crossing lights for two weeks, leading to accusations that people are having to dice with danger.
The main traffic and pelican crossing lights at the junction of Narborough Road South and Hinckley Road, in Leicester's West End, are out of action because they are being replaced.
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The pedestrian crossings at the busy junction of Narborough Road South and Hinckley Road, Leicester, have been removed
Temporary traffic lights have been brought in for drivers but there are no temporary signals to tell people when it is safe to cross.
Pedestrians say they are having to guess when they can step into the roads, which are both key routes into and out of the city, and say they fear the situation might lead to someone being hit by a car.
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Claire Jennings, 29, of West Knighton, Leicester, faced problems when she tried to get across with her two-year-old son, Oliver.
She said: "You're taking your life into your hands as you have to take a gamble on whether or not you have time to get to the other side before the traffic starts moving.
"You can't see the traffic lights so you have no way of knowing."
Peter Hunt, 67, of Syston said: "I have to use this crossing every day and I've seen cars papping their horns at people as they walk across. It's an accident waiting to happen."
The pelican crossing lights – the red and green men – were taken down last week.
The city council, which is responsible for their replacement, said new lights would not be in place until the middle of next week.
Abdul Patel, 39, who lives nearby in Narborough Road said: "It is bad for them to leave it like this for two weeks.
"The road is very busy at all times, so if they have got temporary lights for vehicles they should have put up temporary lights for pedestrians too."
Kevin Clinton, road safety officer for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Alternative arrangements should be made to direct pedestrians to the nearest crossing because it is not acceptable to have such a vulnerable group at risk."
Leicester City Council said the traffic lights were being upgraded and would result in a better crossing for pedestrians once the new ones were in place.
A spokesman said: "The old signal equipment has been removed, with temporary signals being provided to control traffic movements.
"This has meant that at present there are no formal red and green men facilities for pedestrians.
"However, the new signal equipment is due to be fully operational by the middle of next week, including improved pedestrian crossing facilities over Hinckley Road and Braunstone Gate."
Comments
by David, leicester
Friday, July 03 2009, 1:32PM
“having now read these stories for a few weeks now i have noticed one main thing about leicester city council stories ... they never apologise ... they just tell us why theres a problem as though that will make it all ok ... leicester city council we dont want your reasons and excuses becuase theres just too many of them, we want you to run things properly... is that too much to ask.”
by John Stitch, Leicester Town
Friday, July 03 2009, 9:55AM
“Why on earth can the City Council not carry out this kind of work overnight to get it done quicker - thereby not getting disrupted by heavy traffic ? Nice job for someone on these warm, light evenings ...”