A fearful pedestrian says that he has been driven ‘crazy’ over how dangerous it is to cross the road to get to Leighton train station during rush hour.
Graphic Designer Sam Jessup, 29, of Lake Street, walks to the station before commuting into London during the week.
He said: “Walkers from the town have to cross the road opposite the new flats or the entrance to the car park to get to the station itself and it’s a pretty daunting prospect. As someone who uses the station every day it’s just something that drives me crazy.”
Sam claims that there is a blind spot for drivers coming across the mini-roundabout from either New Road or Old Road, meaning drivers often aren’t looking for pedestrians.
“The construction at the old Railway Hotel has scaffolding, which takes up one side of the pavement completely, forcing pedestrians to cross the road regardless.
“A constant stream of car and buses coming and going from the station at rush hour, means that any pedestrian actually has to step out into the road to show their intention to cross, sometimes causing drivers to have to stop suddenly.
“Usually you have to actually break into a small sprint to get across too.”
The solution that Sam feels would solve all pedestrians and drivers problems would be to install a crossing on the other side of the car park entrance that wouldn’t stop the flow in out and of the car park, but allow a safe way for people to cross.
Sam said: “A zebra crossing would be ideal as it wouldn’t delay traffic unnecessarily and add to the collection that Leighton already has.
“On my return journey home in the evening it’s slightly worse as drivers are hurrying home, and not really paying attention to pedestrians at all. This means that again, for someone to cross, the only way is to actually step into the road and force a driver to stop, or hope that a friendly sort will wave you across.
“Plus there are no street lights at the end of Station Road just before the mini-roundabout, which on these dark winter evenings makes crossing the road even more worrying.”
Sam plans to put his proposal forward and hopes that his pleas will be heard by the relevant authorities.
He added: “If the Central Bedfordshire Council, Leighton town council and London Midland want to encourage people not to use their cars and to walk to the station, which is totally possible for many people in the surrounding Leighton/Linslade area, then the walk to the station needs to be made brighter, easier and safer.”
When asked to comment on the possibility of a crossing at the station, Central Bedfordshire Council said: “Any comments the resident sends via our customer services team should be fed to the highways department who are best placed to look at his suggestions.”
Councillor Brian Spurr, spokesman for sustainable communities and services, said: “We are grateful for all feedback and suggestions from residents and a zebra crossing near the railway station is something that we are already aware of.
“As I’m sure people can appreciate these things take time, but this proposal would also be influenced by Network Rail as a stakeholder. Therefore any traffic management measures would need to be introduced after consultation with them.
“We already have plans to look at a number of options around the station in the next financial year so we will be better placed to comment on which solutions seem to fit best then.”