Michael Tomlinson, the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole, paid a visit last week to the sustainable transport improvement works currently being carried out on Leigh Road and Wimborne Road West. The visit was at the invitation of Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, Cllr Ray Bryan.
The visit comes as the latest section of work, the new crossing and traffic controls around the junction of Brook Road and Leigh Road, have been successfully brought into operation.
The junction layout now includes new ‘Puffin’ pedestrian crossings, which provide a safer location for pedestrians and other users to cross the busy junction. Special features of this new crossing include:
- Kerb side detectors that cancel the pedestrian crossing demand, if users cross early or move away from the crossing.
- On crossing detectors to extend the Green Man time for people of low mobility, ensuring the next traffic phase doesn’t start until they have safely crossed.
- Red tactile paving to help the visually impaired locate the crossing as well as the rotating tactile cone placed on the underside of the push button unit signalling when it is safe to cross.
- New low voltage signal heads using LED’s, which save on energy usage, cost and carbon emissions.
As well as the new crossings, the kerb alignments for the junction have been altered to help large vehicles can turn in and out of Brook Rd more easily.
Michael Tomlinson said: “It is really good to see these improvements being made. The funding for these improvements has come from central government through the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund1 (TCF) so it is great for me to see the benefits of this grant coming to fruition on the ground.”
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Highways, Travel and Environment said: “With more family homes being built on Leigh Road and Wimborne Road West and the area becoming much more residential as a result, there is a greater need for safer crossing locations for pedestrians and cyclists on the road. Combining these new crossings with the other improvements will make Leigh Road and Wimborne Road West a much safer, more sustainable place for families to live.”
More information on the Leigh Road – Wimborne Road West sustainable transport improvements can be found on Dorset Council’s web site.
Can you tell me why cyclists have priority over cars ( that pay road tax) now at the Brook Road Traffic lights….
Leigh Road/ Wimborne West sustainable transport improvements are NOT improvements. The cycle/walking lanes are far too wide meaning that vehicles have problems passing on another on the actual road. By all means have a cycle way but this one is much too wide. Who on earth designed it and did they even come out to measure it ?
What a waste of money this should have been spent on the NHS , Schools , Care Homes not cycle paths that no one will use when it wet cold icy
I totally agree. The traffic/cycle/pedestrian balance is too much in favour of cyclists and pedestrians, and the 30 mph limit will increase traffic pollution. It will be interesting to see how much use is made of the cycle lanes. This is spending money for the sake of it, but nothing quite as idiotic as the main road through Lycett Minster, where there is a cycle lane on both sides of the road and painted on the actual road so that vehicles have to move into the cycle lane in the face of oncoming traffic. This is an accident waiting to happen.
It is good to see action but it is surprising that the junction of Leigh Road with Poole Rd (at the Quarterjack Roundabout) was not prioritised. It is not wide enough for vehicles to pass on the road or for pedestrians to walk safely on the pavement. It also discriminates against those with mobility issues. Compared to Brook Rd I think it is hard not to take this was a case of “low hanging fruit”. It would be great to see the plan for this being accelerated.