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Young people at Preston Secondary School in Yeovil can now get to school more safely thanks to the opening of a major road improvement scheme at the junction of Preston Road, Larkhill Road and Preston Grove.
The road safety scheme is designed to improve facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as minimising additional delays for traffic, and follows a vigorous local campaign run by local residents, Yeovil Town Council and Somerset County Councillors.
Acting Head Teacher Kathy Maddocks welcomed the improvements:
“This is a very busy junction which handles considerable volumes of traffic as well as our nearly 1,000 pupils, many of whom walk and cycle along these roads. We are delighted that there is now safe provision for our young people to cross the road and we are encouraging them to use the crossing.”
Somerset Highways, a partnership between Somerset County Council and Atkins, designed the scheme and carried out the construction work which has been completed on schedule.
Mike Bellamy, of Somerset County Council, said:
"This is a significant road scheme which took about five months to complete and required diversions to Larkhill Road and Preston Grove for all of that time. We appreciate that this work caused much inconvenience to residents and road users and we would like to thank them for bearing with us throughout this period."
David Greene, County Councillor for Yeovil South said: “We are very pleased to see that this work has been successfully completed and am certain that this will be of great benefit to not only Preston Secondary School but to other schools in the vicinity.”
County Councillor for Yeovil West, Christine Hunt added: “The safety of the school children and other pedestrians was always upper-most in our minds when campaigning for this road safety improvement scheme. The new layout looks good and seems to be causing no problems for any road users.”
The scheme:
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provides controlled pedestrian crossing facilities (with pedestrian refuge islands) on Preston Road [west] and Larkhill Road – the two crossing points most used by pedestrians.
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provides cycle boxes (advanced stop lines) and cycle lead-in lanes at the heads of the Larkhill Road and Preston Grove arms. This will allow cyclists to enter these areas at the head of waiting traffic so that cyclists can move away first when the green light appears, rather than vying for space with vehicles in the main carriageway and potentially being ‘squeezed out.’
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seeks to minimise the inevitable increase in delay and queuing for motorists at the junction.
For further information contact:
Mike Bellamy, LTP (Local Transport Plan) Implementation Officer, County Hall, Taunton, on (01823) 356866,
Martin Hills, LTP Implementation Manager, County Hall, Taunton, on (01823) 358161.
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