Work to start on new crossing in Shrewsbury

Work to create a safer route to a Shrewsbury secondary school will start on Monday 14 July.

Shropshire County Council is creating a new toucan crossing as part of its work with Meole Brace School Science College on the ‘Safer Routes to School’ programme.

The crossing will be located on Longden Road and will assist children, parents and staff walking and cycling to and from the school. Toucan stands for ‘two can cross’ and is a signal controlled crossing that allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same time.

The new toucan crossing will be supported by a dropped kerb crossing on Bank Farm Road and an upgrade of the footway from Bank Farm Road to the new crossing for use by pedestrians and cyclists.

It is anticipated that the work will take up to five weeks to complete, weather permitting. During the works, traffic will be controlled by part-time temporary traffic lights, traffic management cones and signs, and use of manual Stop/Go boards. Access for all traffic will be maintained at all times.

Parents, pupils and staff at Meole Brace School Science College have been involved in identifying ways to encourage more walking and cycling to school, and highlighted the problems of crossing Longden Road through their School Travel Plan.

John Everall, Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and environment, said: “We have been working with Meole Brace School Science College to listen to pupils and parents ideas on how to make the journey to school safer.

“There has been a considerable level of support for this scheme and we are delighted that we are able to carry out people’s suggestions.”

Mike Owen, Shropshire County Councillor for Meole Brace, said: “We hope that by introducing these crossings more people will be encouraged to cycle and walk to school.

“We apologise for any inconvenience these works may cause, however believe they will ensure the increased safety of pedestrians and cyclists in the future.”

10 July 2008