Northwich News
Councillors continue battle for speed measures and pedestrian bridge in Marbury
8:50am Tuesday 21st February 2012
MARBURY councillors are stepping up their campaign for a pedestrian bridge and traffic calming measures on a stretch of road which has seen four accidents in the past three months.
Cheshire West and Chester clrs Malcolm Byram and Norman Wright have put the spotlight on Marbury Hollows, in Marbury Road, following road traffic incidents which have caused part of the bridge to be knocked down and led to the area being coned off.
Clr Wright said that the recent spate of road traffic incidents began in December 2011, with the latest on Friday.
He added that combined with members of Anderton with Marbury Parish Council, the two councillors had battled for measures to crack down on speeding and improve pedestrian safety for ‘a number of years’, with a lack of cash being the major obstacle.
“Nothing has ever been done,” he said.
“We are so concerned for everybody who goes through Marbury Hollows and we don’t want any fatalities.
“We have both been trying, as councillors, to get these measures for many years - it even goes back to when Marbury had its own parish council.”
The councillors added that a pedestrian bridge would provide an important link for walkers between the Anderton Boat Lift and Marbury Park.
Clr Byram said he thought the speed of traffic on the road was an issue and suggested the incline on the road could lead to vehicles gaining further momentum.
He added: “During many, many years we have campaigned for a footbridge of some description but there were schemes of grandeur about two or three years ago to make quite a wide footbridge that would also take horses, for example.
“The costs were so much and there is no need for it - what we need is a footbridge that would take a mother and child.
“Some of the people from Marbury Road used to walk their kids to Comberbach school there and that is one of the things that concerns me more than anything.
“There is no need to spend a lot - as long as we get a simple footbridge, it would be safe.”
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