Campaigner frustrated over delays to pedestrian crossing being installed in village
A Bottesford resident who has fought a four-year battle to have a pedestrian crossing installed on busy High Street remains frustrated at the delays over it being put in.
Ian Sparrow highlighted the dangers after seeing a ‘near miss’ involving a child in the summer of 2022, raising the need to make the road safer to both the parish council and Leicestershire County Council.
County Hall initially said a traffic report on the street did not justify a crossing but Mr Sparrow says that report was flawed because it was conducted in 2021 when several Covid pandemic restrictions were still place.
A further traffic survey was done in March 2024 before the council carried out another in June of that year, after which the authority confirmed to him that the findings did justify a crossing.
The county council said it didn’t have the funds to install it at the time but the crossing is scheduled to be installed this year, although no date had yet been given.
Mr Sparrow feels the parish council could have done more to support his campaign for the crossing. He said: “After witnessing a near miss accident to a child at the crossing point near the post office, I raised the issue of the crossing with the parish council chair on June 21, 2022.
“I was informed that The Road Safety Committee was focusing for now on speed cameras on the bypass and reduced speed limits in the village and offered contact details for personnel at Leicestershire County Council.”
That prompted Mr Sparrow to embark on his own mission to convince the authorities about the need to make High Street safer.
He made numerous ‘freedom of information’ requests before eventually seeing a copy of the 2021 traffic report – which measured the interaction between pedestrians and vehicles at and in the vicinity of the requested crossing and takes into account the local facilities, such as a post office, a doctor’s surgery, schools, a home for the elderly and other roads.
Mr Sparrow added: “Perhaps if the 2021 survey had been done outside the Covid lockdown and the results analysed properly the zebra crossing may have been justified and installed without delay before Leicestershire County Council ran out of funds.”
Mr Sparrow, who was a chartered structural and civil engineer before retiring, says the council could install the crossing for a lot less than it has budgeted for if it used private contractors.
A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said: “A zebra crossing is planned for High Street in Bottesford, following requests from residents and the parish council, as well as an assessment by the county council.
“Completion is expected later this year. In the meantime, parents, carers and children, as with all pedestrians, are encouraged to take care when crossing.”
Bottesford’s two ward representatives on Melton Borough Council, Councillors James Mason and Don Pritchett, said they ‘welcome any improved pedestrian safety’.
In a joint-statement, they said: “We look forward to any public and parish Council consultation on the location of the zebra crossing.”