Calls for pedestrian crossing on ‘dangerous’ Vale road
A Vale grandmother wants to see a pedestrian crossing outside the parish’s Iceland store as she fears the road is becoming increasingly dangerous.
Donna Marshall has lived close to the junction of Braye Road and Vale Avenue for 18 years, and said the area has become more dangerous since the Iceland store opened on the site of the former Silverline garage in 2016.
‘My daughter went to Vale School and now my grandchildren are going there, and it’s too dangerous for any child to walk on their own because of crossing that road,’ she said. ‘I’d like to think there would be a crossing for my two-year-old grandson to use before he finishes school.’
Mrs Marshall said she had approached the States, Vale Douzaine and Iceland in the past, and while there had been some conversations about a crossing, they appeared to have stalled, mainly due to the complicated nature of the road layout and the granite wall on one side of the road.
She added she was considering starting a petition if there was no further progress.
Traffic and Highway Services lead officer Colin Le Page said it had been working towards a crossing at this point for some time.
‘To ensure the safety of those walking, any new crossing needs to start and end on a footpath,’ he said.
‘To achieve this at the point where Braye Road meets Summerfield Road, we’d need to add a small build out on either side of the road, with the south side dependent on a private landowner being willing to cede a small section of land.
‘Having approached the landowner, we are yet to receive a response, which is stalling our plans to safely introduce a crossing at this junction.
‘However, we are always happy to try and move this forward, so we’ll approach the landowner again to see if they are willing to consider this request in the interests of people’s safety.’
Both Iceland and the parish douzaine said they would be in favour of a new crossing.
‘We would happily support a campaign to install a pedestrian crossing to help improve safety in the area,’ said a spokesman for Sandpiper, which runs Iceland stores in the Channel Islands.
‘If a petition was needed to help, Vale Avenue Iceland would support however it could.’
Vale Constable Richard Leale said there had been various conversations with T&HS about a crossing in the past.
‘Because of the granite wall at one end it was always seen as too dangerous,’ he said.
‘The news from T&HS that they are looking again at a crossing is quite positive and we would support any move to take it forward.’
