Crossing on ‘dangerous’ Mildenhall road could stop a fatality
A concerned parent pushing for a crossing on a ‘dangerous’ Mildenhall road has said councils and a developer ‘will have blood on their hands’ if they don’t implement one soon.
The calls for a pedestrian crossing in Bury Road have increased since the opening of a McDonalds on the Fiveways roundabout, which is attracting many young people from the town.
Rachel Royal, whose child attends nearby Mildenhall College Academy, has started a petition calling for Forest Heath District Council and Pigeon, the site developers, to put a crossing on the ’extremely busy and dangerous road’.
She said: “As far as I am concerned if they don’t act quickly they will have blood on their hands. This matter is serious and urgent.”
Ms Royal added that she has met with representatives from McDonalds to secure their support.
Cllr James Waters, district council leader, said: “You drive along that road and shiver because you know if we don’t act, something it going to happen.
“We’re probably looking at a cost of £40,000. It sounds a lot of money, but you cannot put a price on safety.
“I don’t think that anyone would deny the need for it. Now we know the extent of the need and the use it would get, we’ve got to get a crossing put in sooner rather than later.”
Susan Byles, principal of Mildenhall College Academy, said she had been unsuccessfully pushing for a crossing near the school’s Bury Road campus for years.
She said: “Earning an exit pass to leave the site at lunchtimes is a reward for older students and we do not want to have to curtail this.
“A safe pedestrian crossing would help reduce the risk of any accident ever happening.”
Ms Royal’s petition comes as a campaign for improved safety at the Fiveways roundabout received backing from Matt Hancock, MP for West Suffolk. A petition from the Safety at Fiveways (SAFE) campaign has so far garnered more than 200 signatures.
Mr Hancock said: “It’s clear something needs to be done to address the congestion and the accidents that are all too common at the roundabout.”
A Suffolk County Council spokeswoman said: “The county council currently holds funding that was secured in case a crossing was needed as a result of this development at Fiveways.
“We have started the process needed to deliver a crossing as there was a safety need for one to be in the area.”
