Sirs,
As a George Lane resident I have some concerns regarding the Marlborough Police Station development, in terms of its impact on pedestrian safety, which I have communicated to Wiltshire Council.
Due to the location of the two public footpaths on opposite sides of the road, this section of George Lane is a busy area for pedestrians, not least because it is a key access point to the rear pedestrian entrance for Marlborough St Mary’s Primary School.
Wiltshire Council Traffic & Network Management produced a report, “George Lane Pedestrian Crossing Assessment” in November 2019, which identified that this location is well used by pedestrians because of the two public footpaths that provide access to Town Mill, to Orchard Road/Isbury Road and, importantly, to Marlborough St Mary’s Primary School.
The report’s recommendation was to install a signal controlled crossing on George Lane, and remove the lay-by which is located immediately outside the proposed development, at precisely the location of the new housing development.
Apparently no timescales were placed on the installation of the crossing, but I am disappointed that there appears to be no mention of it in the Police Station redevelopment plans.
It seems to me that without the recommended crossing the new development will make the current issues for pedestrians – crossing a busy road with no formal crossing point – significantly more dangerous, due to the increase in traffic turning on to George Lane from to new development of 24 housing units.
George Lane is already a busy road with traffic congestion at key points during the day, bus stops, and a significant number of HGVs delivering to business on, or accessed via, George Lane (e.g. Waitrose).
It would seem like an obvious solution to install a formal crossing before any demolition/building work commences, to ensure a safer crossing point for users as soon as the site becomes busy. It would then also seem sensible to include some public parking on the new development If the existing lay-by is lost.
Yours,
Kate Hunter
Marlborough
