7:00am Sunday 19th October 2008
By Joanna Codd
A GROUP of Bournemouth residents is calling for a pedestrian crossing or traffic calming measures to be installed on a busy road after a series of accidents and near misses.
More than 100 people have signed a petition to Bournemouth council organised by retired marketing executive Alan Homer and his 71-year-old wife Jean, who is registered blind.
The couple live in a flat on the north side of West Cliff Road, Westbourne, but Mrs Homer has to cross the road for her favourite walks to the seafront.
Mr Homer, 73, said: “It’s so hard for people to cross the road.
“There are no lights and no controlled crossings.
“If you stand there waving a white stick with a white handkerchief on the end, motorists don’t even slow down.
“You can get 12 to 15 cars going by and they practically take it out of your hand.
“It means you’re quite marooned.”
He added that traffic tended to be heavy, especially during the rush hour and when other main routes between Poole and Bournemouth were congested.
“There have been two accidents in the last week.
“A car crashed into a stationary car and another car turned over next to St Ambrose Church,” he said.
Mr Homer said cars parked along the road and the speed of the through traffic also made it difficult for residents to exit their drives safely.
“In the summer there are more cars parked along the road and more people crossing it.
“It’s all very well having the police out there occasionally, but that’s not enough.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult to slow traffic down.
“We pay £1.5 million in council tax in this area.
“What are we paying for, if not safety?”
Area representative Cllr John Beasley promised to bring up the matter at the next meeting between ward councillors and police in a couple of weeks’ time.
“What we’re trying to do as a council is take a far more comprehensive approach to the road over a range of issues.
“Each block of flats has come forward with its own ideas and it has been piecemeal,” he said.
“There will be some serious highway issues to consider.
“Ward councillors fought very hard to get the road resurfaced, but that has speeded traffic up.”
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