Council agrees to reassess Village Way safety

Campaigners have long argued for safety measures to be introduced on Village Way

The council has finally agreed to reassess pedestrian safety on Village Way following the tragic death of a motorcyclist last month.

Parents and concerned residents have been calling on the council to improve road safety measures at the junction for years, with a petition for a road crossing acquiring more than a thousand signatures in a week.

However the council have only now decided to look into a potential crossing after a motorcyclist was knocked down and died on November 10.

Alison Davies of the Bromley Liberal Democrats – who have long lobbied for better pedestrian safety at the junction – told News in Beckenham: “This is something the council should have looked at before and it should form part of their planning.  It should not take a petition and an unrelated motorcycle fatality further down the road to finally convince the council there may be merit in reassessing the road.  What’s more, we also want road safety to form part of the council’s everyday planning so situations like this do not occur again.

“It is not just a question of speed of cars on Village Way, it’s a question of providing a crossing point where pedestrians, including the vastly increased number of children walking to the popular Harris schools on Manor Way, can safely assess the traffic before crossing.

“We have also heard from concerned drivers who would prefer a designated crossing for school children on this stretch of road.”

In an email to a campaigner, which was subsequently posted on Facebook, chairman of the council’s development control committee, Peter Dean, said: “Following an analysis of the police and coronary reports the council will be reassessing road safety on Village Way potentially with a view to introduce traffic calming measures.”