COUNTY bosses have confirmed a £450,000 road safety scheme will start in Swanage in the New Year.

Dorset Council and Swanage Town Council have been working on the project, to improve safety and “enhance the pedestrian experience” along Institute Road in Swanage town centre.

Options were discussed by concerned residents and businesses at drop-in sessions last summer and feedback from these sessions has been incorporated into the final design, Dorset Council insists.

Residents have long complained of safety issues along Institute Road, in particular to instances of heavy vehicles having to mount the pavement in order to pass vehicles using the loading bay.

Now pavements are set to be widened and raised to full height, the existing loading bay will be removed with new loading bays introduced at each end of Institute Road.

Dorset Council infrastructure and assets service manager Kate Tunks said: “It has been difficult to design a solution that provides everybody with what they would like but there is no questioning the fact that the pedestrian environment on Institute Road must be improved.”

Work will start on Station Road on January 6 to upgrade the pedestrian crossing to a puffin crossing and widen the pavement to provide a shorter crossing point. These could take up to three weeks, but will be completed, the councils says, without the need for any additional traffic control.

Then, on January 27, work is scheduled to move into Shore Road where the traffic island will be rebuilt to enable vehicles to safely pass the new loading bay on Institute Road.

The main works on Institute Road are currently planned to start on February 10. This will include the installation of new drainage systems and rebuilding the pavements.

Kate said: “We know that closing Institute Road to traffic will require residents and businesses to adapt but there is no other way to get the work done, and we’re doing what we can to keep the town accessible for shoppers.

“The one-way flow on Kings Road East will be reversed to ensure drivers can still get into the heart of the town, and High Street will become two-way with the help of temporary signals. ”