Salford Council has approved a £689,795.26 contract to build a new pedestrian crossing at the junction of Singleton Road and Bury Old Road, a site described as a ‘nightmare junction’ and ‘dangerous’ by council officers. The decision comes after six collisions were recorded at the location over a five-year period, including an incident where a child crossing the road on a bike was hit by a car.
Improvement scheme details
The improvement scheme, to be delivered by Rosgal Ltd, will introduce wider walkways and signal controlled crossings. However, not everyone is convinced the plan will help.
Local ward councillor Andrew Walters said he is ‘deeply concerned’ and ‘not particularly reassured’ by the plans, following residents’ previous complaints about traffic problems in the area.
Residents’ congestion warnings
At a meeting in April, residents warned that congestion along Singleton Road is so severe they are often unable to get out of their driveways. Queues along the short road, a key route for cars travelling between Prestwich and Manchester city centre, can take up to 15 minutes to clear, according to locals.
“I absolutely support making the junction safer for pedestrians,” said councillor Walters. “But I remain deeply concerned that we are about to spend almost £700,000 on a scheme which officers have acknowledged will actually increase traffic delays in every direction. I am not particularly reassured that the increased congestion will at least be distributed more equitably.
“What we are getting is a very expensive full signalisation scheme which may improve pedestrian safety, but does so at the expense of making the traffic problem worse.”
Council response
Speaking at a procurement meeting earlier this week, Coun Mike McCusker, the lead member for Planning, Transport, Sustainable Development and Regeneration, said he ‘welcomed the plans in terms of road safety’ after being contacted ‘for a reasonable length of time by ward councillors about the problems with pedestrian safety in this area’.
