Zebra crossing proposed for Preston crash blackspot

Cadley ward member John Potter says he had long feared that someone could be killed on Cadley Causeway - even before a series of incidents which threatened to bring his alarming prediction to pass.

The first of those came when a young boy was knocked over and seriously injured in June 2015.

Highways bosses at Lancashire County Council indicated in the years following that accident that the location - just beyond the brow of a hill, close to St. Anthony's Church - would be amongst those considered for a safety scheme, because of the accident record in the area.

However, a study undertaken in 2019 concluded that the spot did not meet the criteria for intervention.

Two further incidents in December of that year saw another child run down and, separately, two women - a pensioner and her daughter - hospitalised after a vehicle crashed into their car, a bus stop and the church wall.

Now, County Hall has revealed that a zebra crossing on the stretch of road is one of the draft highways safety proposals that will be put before cabinet members this year.

Cllr Potter says the news will be welcomed by residents - more than 200 of whom supported the idea of a crossing in an online poll he set up.

“While it isn’t a light-controlled crossing that is being proposed, obviously anything is better than nothing.

“But we have also had many false dawns down the years where it was suggested that a scheme would be developed - and then nothing happened.

“However, this is a movement in the right direction - because it is only good luck that nobody has been killed here.

“At the start of last year, the police collision information sent to highways showed that the junction of Mill Lane and Cadley Causeway does meet the intervention threshold - four-and-a-half years after we were first told the same thing,” said Cllr Potter, who also represents Preston West on the county council.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: “Every year we use data gathered by the police about incidents on our roads which result in people being killed or injured to identify and prioritise new safety schemes where these will have the greatest impact on improving road safety.

"A new safety scheme for Cadley Causeway is included in our draft programme for the coming financial year, subject to approval by the county council's cabinet.

"The proposal is for the construction of a new zebra crossing, along with traffic calming features, to control traffic speeds on the approaches to the crossing, and relocation of the speed camera."

The Post understands that if the scheme is approved by the authority’s cabinet, it would be included in a list of works to be carried out next year.

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