Dorchester's drop kerbs 'a danger'

DORCHESTER town councillors fear millions of pounds of public money has been wasted on dropped kerb crossing replacements which disabled people say are more dangerous than their predecessors.

Members of the Access for All group and Dorset Association for the Disabled have criticised new crossings installed by Dorset County Council because they cannot see approaching traffic from them.

Wheelchair and mobility scooter users say dropped kerbs in Edward Road, Queen's Avenue and Treves Road are obscured to traffic negotiating junctions.

Town councillors and committee members fear that £20,000 a year is being ploughed into inappropriate remedial work in the town.

At a meeting of Dorchester Town Council on Tuesday evening, the chairman of the planning and environment committee, Fiona Kent- Ledger, who fielded a question on the matter from Cllrs David Barrett, Leslie Phillips and Ken Heath, said queries should be directed to the county council.

Cllr Barrett, who is a member of the Dorset Association for the Disabled, said after the meeting that if the work was found to be unsafe, up to 90 per cent of dropped kerbs in Dorset will have to be removed, costing ratepayers millions of pounds.

He said: "The kerbs had to be moved because the tactile paving didn't point in the right direction.

"The new kerbs don't have tactile paving at all and are even more dangerous and completely unnecessary.

"There was no constructive reason for their relocation.

"At Queen's Avenue, the kerbs are hidden by a wall and at Edward Road by a tree stump. Plus cars park on the kerbs. The opinion of many disabled people I represent is they are now dangerous in the extreme.

"The money in the programme was made available for further dropped kerbs, not to correct ones that were already there."

He intends to write to the county council raising the issue this week.

Jenny Joyce of Dorchester, who uses a buggy to get around the town, said: "More often than not I go in the road to find a safe crossing point where I can see and be seen by motorists.

"I don't feel safe crossing where the dropped kerbs are so I have to make my way in the road.

"They're a waste of money at a time when the county council simply can't afford it."

Jenny's husband and carer, John, said: "I've done some research into this and I know according to guidelines they should be positioned where pedestrians would walk.

"They're dangerous not just for those crossing, but for the motorist as well. I'm just concerned it could lead to a serious accident."

Dorset County Council's assistant highways manager, Rod Turner, said: "The county council considers these crossing points to be safe within the normal limitations of highway use.

"All crossing works are considered in light of Department for Transport guidance, which is not mandatory, and may or may not adopt different aspects of the guidance depending on specific situations and conditions."