'Dangerous' Westlands Roundabout in Droitwich set for new crossing

A Worcestershire County Councillor tells us that safety must come first, after funding was secured to install a new toucan crossing on the Westlands Roundabout.

The scheduled work will begin in September, with work expected to last until the beginning of next year.

Along with the crossing, the roundabout will have a new speed limit of 30mph.

Councillor Richard Morris, who has been leading the call for changes to the 'dangerous' roundabout, he said , "Residents on foot have to traverse round that roundabout to get to the shops and then to the centre of the town.


"It's really risky and really dangerous. I've spent time talking to residents there, young, elderly, parents with pushchairs.

"The speeds that cars go by because generally a motorist just sees it as an annoyance, 
it is really difficult to cross"

There have been several proposals for a solution to the dangerous crossing.

In initially a bypass was considered, before Councillor Morris suggested other alternatives.

Speaking with us he said, "First, I I tried to get the fly over complete, but capital spending, it's pretty difficult times with funding, great infrastructure and so forth.

"There was no way I was going to manage that. Then I tried to get a kind of footbridge. But that again is in millions of pounds and it's got to be something that is designed purposely for that area."

"You can't just buy one off a shelf and fit it in, there was the argument, would everyone have used it? You still get people crossing because of shortcuts effectively.

"So a toucan crossing does seem as the most viable and appropriate response, it's effectively a traffic light crossing."

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