Campaigners' anger at lack of action over traffic lights (From Echo)

Campaigners' anger at lack of action over traffic lights

2:00pm Friday 13th March 2009 in News By Sarah Calkin

Why are we waiting? Councillors and residents at the zebra crossing

RESIDENTS campaigning to get traffic lights installed at a dangerous zebra crossing are angry no work has started – eight months after they were promised the improvement.

A petition signed by 539 people living near the crossing, which is close to the BP petrol station, in Long Road, Canvey, was handed to county councillor Ray Howard in July 2007.

A year later, Mr Howard was promised by County Hall that £100,000 had been set aside to do the work. But as the months rolled on, residents have been getting increasingly frustrated by the lack of action.

Campaigner Roy Haffield, 71, of Janett Avenue, Canvey, said: “We are having near misses here every day of the week.

“We need the traffic signals there to allow the public to cross without getting knocked down.”

The group was spurred into action back in July 2007, after there were three accidents on the crossing in three days.

In February last year, a man was treated by paramedics after being knocked off his scooter when a van failed to stop at the crossing.

Their frustration at the lack of action was added to when they saw an article in the Echo reporting that the county council was going to spend £100,000 improving a crossing outside the Hoy and Helmet pub in High Road, Benfleet, where there have been no serious accidents.

The move is in part to stop traffic trying to get to the station being held up by people crossing the road.

Mr Haffield added: “The priority must be to save a life, not the problem of people queueing to get into the station and causing a back-up. My worry is the money has been issued and has gone to the wrong place.”

Norman Hume, cabinet member responsible for highways and transportation said: “It is still our intention to deliver this scheme.

“A full programme of highways works is currently being drawn up which are scheduled at the beginning of each year.

“I would like to reassure residents funding has not been taken from this scheme and put into the improvements in South Benfleet, as these are two completely separate allocations.”