Council plans for major safety changes at busy Doncaster city centre crossing revealed
New and improved active travel infrastructure for walkers, wheelers and cyclists will improve safety for a busy Doncaster city centre crossing, if £1.4million in funding is approved next week.
The funding, secured from a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) active travel pot of £2.4m, will see upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists at the North Bridge Road crossing over Trafford Way.
In a report to Mayor Ros Jones’ cabinet, which meets next week, City of Doncaster Council officials revealed: “The scheme would enable pedestrians and cycles to access the City centre on a more direct alignment taking the current three stage crossing down to a two stage crossing.
“Currently users of the crossing experience conflict on the central island on Trafford Way, this leads to people crossing informally increasing the risk of being struck by vehicles.”
Changing the scheme to a “two stage crossing” means there will only be one refuge island for those crossing North Bridge Road and Trafford Way.
Diagrams of the planned changes show the refuge island in the centre of Trafford Way would be removed, allowing people crossing to go from one side of Trafford Way to the other without waiting half way over.
The report to cabinet adds: “The scheme if delivered would give walkers, wheelers and cycles their own dedicated space when crossing, ensuring that conflict is reduced.
“Alongside the improvements to the crossing, upgrades to both the pedestrian and cycle infrastructure surrounding the crossing are built into the proposals to fully separate both modes, reducing conflict and improving users safety.”
The work, if given the go ahead, is expected to take six-months.