Date set for work to start on The Crescent crossing
CAMPAIGNERS’ calls for a crossing to allow safer shopper access to The Crescent will be become reality within weeks.
Work on creating the pedestrian walkway across the wide stretch of Lancaster Road is expected to start on February 26 .
Some £20,000 of the £800,000 cash pot left over from previous rounds of highways projects in the borough is paying for the crossing, along with a contribution from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.
The bill has been put at £40,000. Definite plans for the crossing were announced last October.
The rest of the £800,000, obtained by Leicestershire County Council in 2014 from the Local Growth Fund, will go towards improvements to the Ashby Road/Derby Road and Derby Road/John Street junctions and the provision of a pedestrian/ cycle link between Dean Road and Dean Road West.
They form part of the wider Hinckley Area Project which has seen the introduction of cycle routes and traffic calming across the borough in three phases.
The fourth phase also features major alterations to the muchmaligned Rugby Road and Haw- ley Road junctions and this will now go ahead largely thanks to a £3.5 million injection of cash from the Government’s National Productivity Investment Fund.
The £5 million scheme is scheduled to start next May.
Borough Council chief executive Bill Cullen said: “We’re delighted work is now programmed to deliver a muchneeded crossing facility at Lancaster Road, which will provide a safe and convenient crossing point for shoppers and visitors.
“This will complement the major regeneration work the council has spearheaded with the popular Crescent shopping and leisure scheme and will improve connectivity between The Crescent and the Castle Street shopping area, via Station Road.”
Blake Pain, the county council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “We’re delighted to say that work is going to start and should take two to three weeks.
“Our continuing investment in Hinckley demonstrates the authority’s commitment to help boost the local economy by reducing congestion and encouraging more people to walk and cycle.”
A lobby group was formed last year and a petition launched for the Lancaster Road crossing following concerns and an apparent near miss.