Shillingford: Zebra crossing granted after 25-year campaign (From Herald Series)

Shillingford: Zebra crossing granted after 25-year campaign

1:00pm Thursday 14th February 2013 in News

Buy this photo » ELATION: A delighted Lorraine Lindsay-Gale celebrates at the site of the new crossing on the A4074 in Shillingford

IT’S been a long road, but after 25 years residents living near Wallingford have succeeded in their campaign for a pedestrian crossing.

A quarter of a century ago, villagers in Shillingford and Warborough began calling for the safety feature on the busy A4074 in Shillingford.

Although there have been no accidents at the site since records began in 1979, residents still wanted to improve safety.

Now work will start on Thursday, February 28, after Oxfordshire County Council member Lorraine Lindsay-Gale gave £31,000.

The councillor for Dorchester and Berinsfield used cash given to all members by the council for local projects, a scheme set to be axed next year.

Warborough Parish Council gave a further £5,000 for the zebra crossing, 60 metres from the Shillingford roundabout on the Dorchester side, in a 30mph zone.

She said: “This is a busy road and there have been near-misses but no-one has died, so the highways department has not been able to identify a crossing here as a spending priority.”

She said: “Until now, the highways department has always refused to fund such a project, even after appeals from [former Henley MPs] Michael Heseltine and Boris Johnson. I am delighted that after so long the residents in these two villages will be able to cross an extremely busy and dangerous road in safety.”

Alexis Somarakis, owner of the Kingfisher Inn on the A4074 in Shillingford, said: “It’s good news the crossing is finally being built because residents have campaigned for this for years. The crossing is definitely needed because the A4074 is so busy.”

Thames Valley Police have used mobile speed cameras at the north end of Shillingford village after residents complained about speeding.