Local residents in Atworth have joined with MP Michelle Donelan to celebrate the installation of a safer pedestrian crossing which makes walking over the busy A365 which runs through the village.
Severe problems with visibility at the pedestrian crossing were highlighted by Atworth Parish Council who said the crossing was poor and potentially dangerous. The crossing had low visibility, particularly in the daytime, which was creating serious problems. Atworth Parish Council had been extremely concerned about the number of near misses reported by villagers.
Atworth Parish Council collected over 250 signatures from villagers, calling on Wiltshire Council to find a resolution to the problem by awarding a grant towards Halo lights.
They also contacted their MP, Michelle Donelan, to galvanise her support to a grant application from Wiltshire Council to provide the halo crossing.
As a result of the successful application, new zigzag lines have been installed, highly visible Halo lights have been installed following a grant from the Melksham Area Board for half the cost. The Highways Agency have agreed to upgrade the flood lights, giving a whiter light over the crossing at no cost to the local residents.
Chair of the Atworth Parish Council Effie Gale-Sides said, “The village is extremely grateful to Wiltshire Council for the generous grant and we’re most grateful to Michelle Donelan for her active help and positive support in making our village pedestrian crossing safe.
“It is an excellent result and will go a long way in making our busy main road much safer.”
Wiltshire MP Michelle Donelan said, “Improving pedestrian safety is vitally important to our communities. The A365 is a very busy and fast road and a number of constituents had raised concerns about near misses when trying to cross the road, especially with children. I am delighted that Wiltshire Council were able to respond to Atworth’s request. The new crossing is a vast improvement on its predecessor and it makes it far safer for local residents to cross their village.”
