‘Trapped’ residents hit out at crossing refusal
A GROUP of pensioners say they feel trapped inside their accommodation because they are too scared to cross the road, which they say is “like a racetrack”.
The Whickham residents, some in their nineties and with disabilities, have criticised Gateshead Council for refusing to install a crossing to the bus stop which is their link to the doctor, dentist and shops in town.
Many claim they do not even leave their homes because the thought of making the “perilous” journey across the road is too terrifying.
But the council says a pedestrian crossing is “not appropriate” at this time.
Pat McTeer, 83, is leading the campaign to lobby the council for a crossing.
“It’s like living on an island – the residents feel trapped”, she said.
“We need this crossing to give the people their independence back. It would give them a new lease of life.”
She said the council has refused to install the requested signed crossing and called the decision uncompassionate. “It’s laziness, lack of understanding and lack of compassion”, she said.
“We went to work and we worked damn hard for very little wages but we’re now being ignored. They probably think we’re getting on a bit and won’t be around complaining for much longer.”
The problem affects the dozens of pensioners living in the Tindale Drive and Castle Crescent independent living flats, with the bus stop into town on the other side of Parkway Road.
Although there is a 20mph speed limit on the road, they claim it is treated “like a racetrack” by speeding drivers.
“It may as well be 100mph,” one resident said.
Bad mobility makes it difficult for pensioners to quickly cross the stretch of road, and they say poor eyesight and hearing means they struggle to know if a car is coming round the bend.
Most of the pensioners say they have resorted to taking taxis so they don’t have to go over the road to the bus stop.
One woman said: “Recently, I had to spend £25 on taxis in one day. I have a bus pass but I can’t use it. The other day I had to go to the Queen Elizabeth hospital and that cost me £30 and my pension doesn’t go that far.”
The prospect of getting over the road to the bus stop has become so scary to the residents, that some rarely venture outside of their flats.
Norma Crosby, 93, said she doesn’t go into town anymore.
She said: “I can get a bus into town if I cross the road, but I can’t get across the road.
“I rang the council, told them about it but they said we can’t do anything about it.
“The councillors aren’t interested in whose living here or what we have to put up with. We are definitely being ignored.”
When we last reported on this problem in September, Gateshead Council said it was preparing a report to decide the fate of the proposed crossing.
Now, it has agreed to install a “dropped kerb” on the pavement but stopped short of the signed walkways which the pensioners had hoped for.
The council recommendation says “the criteria for the provision of a controlled crossing are not met” after considering “the needs of the sizeable, local elderly community and evaluated against the surveyed numbers of pedestrians”.