Essential safety measures will be installed on roads next to Birkdale Village in Southport later this year.
Sefton Council is due to spend around £400,000 on delivering accessibility improvements along Weld Road, at the junctions with York Road and Lulworth Road.
The work will see new pedestrian crossings, crossings with tactile paving and push buttons, better pavements, and dropped kerbs replaced with tactile paving.
One of the bus stops could also be relocated.
Much of this route is said to be “in poor condition” and lacking in ,adequate pedestrian crossing facilities.
The proposed new safety measures are close to where friends Marie Cunningham, 79 and Grace Foulds, 85, died after being struck by a vehicle on Lulworth Road in Birkdale in November 2021.
Members of their family have been campaigning ever since for urgent safety measures to be introduced along Lulworth Road to prevent any future accidents from happening, saying they will “never stop” until they have secured changes needed.
The council is now seeking tenders for the work to be carried out this autumn, in order to avoid any disruption to Birkdale Village traders in the run-up to Christmas.
In a report to councillors, Sefton Council Assistant Director Highways and Public Protection said: “Over recent years, the Council has had a programme of improving accessibility within Local Centres.
“The Weld Road area of Birkdale Village has been identified as having poor levels of pedestrian accessibility, with poorly located and constructed dropped crossings, many without tactile paving, which are unsuitable for a local centre, along with an existing signal-controlled junction which does not include pedestrian crossing facilities.
“In addition to the village centre, the Weld Road corridor is a key desire line for pedestrians to access Birkdale Village.
“Much of this route is in poor condition, with inadequate dropped crossings and crosses the A565 Lulworth Road at another signal-controlled junction which does not possess adequate pedestrian crossing facilities.
“There have been numerous requests over the years from members of the public, local ward members and Southport Access for Everyone, for pedestrian phases at both sets of traffic lights.”
Initial feasibility plans have been developed to address these issues.
These include:
York Road and Weld Road Junction – New controlled crossings for those walking on the York Road / Weld Road traffic signal junction.
Weld Road and Lulworth Road Junction – Upgrade of existing traffic signals to include crossings with tactile paving and push buttons for those walking across Weld Road and Lulworth Road
Improved footpath upgrades with new crossings – Footpaths along Weld Road will be improved. Existing dropped kerbs are to be replaced with tactile paving.
It is expected that these works will start on site near the end of September or the start of October, with works phased to complete the elements of work closest to the local businesses first to minimise any disruption leading up to Christmas.
A Public Consultation was held on the improvements with letters sent to 189 households and businesses, directly affected by the proposals.
Thirty-one responses were received with thirty of these were favourable, with just one opposed.
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