Worried father says Grantham traffic junction is 'accident waiting to happen'

A father has branded a busy junction “an accident waiting to happen” due to not having a pedestrian crossing.

Clive Baillie, 55, of Denton Avenue, regularly uses the the junction at London Road and Bridge End Road to cross with his 15-year-old son, who has autism and severe learning difficulties.

He said: “When I heard they were going to be replacing the traffic signals, I just presumed they were going to install a pelican crossing. It was only when I spoke to their contractors that I discovered that there were no such plans. I couldn’t believe it. It is one of the busiest junctions in town yet it seems to be the only one without a pelican crossing.”

Clive, who retired from the fire service in March after 30 years, regularly walks around town with his son. They often cover more than six miles a day especially during the summer months.

Clive added: “It is part of Jake’s routine and is a good way to get him out in the fresh air and doing a bit of exercise. We always stop off for a drink at Mcdonald’s before we pop into the fire station and the tennis centre. It is always a straight forward walk, except when we arrive at this junction.”

After watching several near misses already, Clive is worried that its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

He added: “I watched a couple of teenagers dart across the road to try and beat an oncoming car at the weekend.

“We always have to walk half way up the street in order to cross the road safely as the cars come so quickly around each corner. If I have to quickly pull Jake back to avoid a car, he can get annoyed as he doesn’t understand.”

Coun Richard Davies, executive member for Highways, said: “This is a busy junction and we understand why some people want a pedestrian crossing here.

“This is something we will consider, but it makes sense to wait until the new southern relief road is completed.

“This will undoubtedly change traffic patterns within the town and it’s important we take this into account.

“For example, we expect the new road to take a lot of traffic out of the town centre and the design of any crossing would need to reflect that.”