MELKSHAM Town Council is resume investigations into possible solutions to improve safety on the high pavement area on Bank Street, following further safety concerns from residents.
The issue was last discussed at a council meeting in February 2020 where it was agreed to explore options to improve safety.
It was reported at the time that residents living with visual impairment were calling for safety measures – such as railings along the entire course of the pavement, or tactile paving to indicate where the edge of the pavement is – be installed to reduce the risk of accidents.
The area, which has a drop in some places of 3ft onto the main road, was described as ‘dangerous’, ‘frightening’ and ‘a nightmare’ for people living with visual impairment.
The issue was back on the council’s agenda at a meeting on Monday 17th April – over three years after the issue was last discussed – when cllr Tom Price said that he had been contacted by a visually impaired resident of Melksham Forest to ask whether the council could investigate improvements to the pavement.
Councillors revisited the findings of a report carried out by Wiltshire Council in 2004 which at the time resolved that the edge of the high pavement was not strong enough to support the weight of any railings and suggested a supporting wall would be needed to be built in front of the existing wall to provide a secure base. An estimated costing for this at the time was £44,000 and councillors concluded that due to inflation, costings could now be around £100,000.
Speaking in support of moving forward with this option, cllr Simon Crundell said, “Why don’t we seriously consider the wall option. The road is wide enough. Let’s resolve tonight to have that as our ambition to do and start looking for funding. It has been an issue that the town has been grappling with for decades. Let’s just get on and do it.”
Cllr Saffi Rabey pointed out that since the report was produced in 2004, engineering technology has moved on and suggested looking at whether there were any other potential solutions using modern technology which were not available at the time of the report. This point was also discussed by the council in 2020.
Councillors also discussed whether there was a need for the additional safety measures given that there have been very few incidents reported of anyone falling off of the high pavement. A number of councillors reported being contacted by concerned residents and cllr Tom Price added, “It’s still a risk and there’s still a fear [of falling off] there.”
The council agreed to investigate all possible solutions and find out if there are any new technologies which could be considered. They also agreed to refer the matter to LHFIG – the local highway section of Wiltshire Council for their input.
