Councillors disappointed as council rejects petition for new crossing in Peterborough

Calls were made by Orton Waterville ward councillors- Cllr Kirsty Knight and Cllr Nicola Day- for a crossing in the interest of safety over a stretch of road in Orton Goldhay behind Starbucks and close to the Bushfield Leisure Centre and Ormiston Bushfield Academy.

The road, known as Busway, also has a large number of sheltered accommodation apartments nearby and the footpath leading up to it, which links Orton Northgate and Southgate, is used by a large number of schoolchildren each day.

Cllr Knight said previously: “We saw lots of near misses with children last year. It’s also the main route between Orton Northgate and Southgate for children going to school. It’s a high traffic “area. You also have residents using it, some with pushchairs and going shopping in the Orton Centre.

“It is getting busier and busier. We need to take action to get something done now before somebody is killed.”

Traffic assessments were carried out in the area in the past week but the council has now analysed the data and rejected the crossing idea; insisting that the number of vehicles using the area was not high enough.

In an email, Lewis Banks, Transport and Environment Manager at Peterborough City Council, said:

"This is one of the most popular requests and installing a new crossing is very expensive so we undertake an assessment process. It is an on-site assessment where we count the number of people crossing the road and number of vehicles which then gives a score of whether a crossing should be considered or not.”

“We undertook the assessment twice, in the morning and afternoon, at school pick up and drop off times. Although there were a number of people crossing, the number of vehicles was very low in comparison to other areas, which has meant that it has scored quite low and wouldn’t be able to justify a crossing.”

Expressing her disappointment at the decision, Cllr Knight said: “I am extremely disappointed that Peterborough City Council has refused a pedestrian crossing near Ormiston Bushfield Academy and the nearby sheltered housing.

“This crossing is used daily by school children and elderly residents, yet we are being told it cannot be justified because there are not enough vehicles using the road.

“Residents have raised safety concerns for years. The message they will take from this decision is simple: nothing will happen until somebody gets seriously hurt.

“That is not good enough.”

Cllr Day added: “I’m disappointed to report that the council has undertaken assessments at both AM and PM times for a pedestrian crossing behind OBA/ Path to Starbucks.

“Although there were a number of people crossing, the number of vehicles was very low in comparison to other areas which has meant that they cannot justify a crossing being put in place.

“I have asked if there are any other measures they can implement to make this crossing safer."