Location of new pedestrian crossing in Yate is criticised

The town council says the Toucan crossing planned for Kennedy Way would only benefit people who move into the new Elswick Park development, formerly known as the Sea Stores site, but would not help anyone living in south Yate.

Cllr Chris Willmore said: "The feedback I have heard is that this is totally bonkers.

"It isn’t going to do any good for anybody else apart from residents of the Sea Stores site."

Cllr Willmore said people walking from the housing estates in south Yate to the town’s shopping centre would not cross Scott Way to use the new crossing across Kennedy Way and then use another crossing at the new bus station on Link Road.

"This is a bizarre solution that is not pedestrian friendly and will not be used by pedestrians," she said. "But South Gloucestershire Council will be able to tick a box and if anyone gets hurt they can say a safe pedestrian crossing has been provided.

"It is a daft location. They need to provide a pedestrian route to the bus station that people will use rather than counter-intuitive things that they will not."

The push-button crossing would be paid for by developers Taylor Wimpey as part of an agreement to build 228 homes on the Sea Stores site.

A South Gloucestershire Council spokeswoman said: "There is a long-standing rule that transport funding derived from a developer of a specific development has to be used in a way that primarily benefits that same development.

"It is on this basis that the council has consulted on the location of a pedestrian crossing to help the future occupants of the new housing development at Elswick Park to cross Kennedy Way.

"This new crossing will also benefit the residents of the existing estates (Mallard Close, Kingfisher Road, Finch Road, Robin Way etc) as they will be able to walk through the new development to the Yate centre."

She added: "With the the new crossing in place, there will be a total of four controlled crossings of Kennedy Way within 500 metres."