WORK has begun on the new crossing on Ravenhill Road, near the entrance to My Lady’s Road.
Local community groups have long been campaigning to have the crossing changed, as the old pelican crossing was deemed a significant risk to people crossing the road, and it had been the sight of numerous incidents in the past. The new crossing, which is a puffin crossing, will feature green and red crossing lights to improve safety for both pedestrians and drivers.
George Newell, of Lagan Village Youth and Community Group, has long campaigned with others in the area for the crossing to be changed.
“It will be a great asset to the community, especially in saving local people’s lives," he said. "There have been too many incidents at the old crossing over the years.
"It will be great not only for the local community but also for Ochardville, the charity on Ravenhill Road who work with around 50 special needs young adults who use the crossing daily, so it will be a great asset for them as well.”
George stated how over the years, people have been injured at the old crossing, and it would frequently be the scene of near misses for pedestrians.
“Over the years three of our staff members have been hit at that crossing, there have been crashes right in front of our eyes. Lots of times we’ve seen people stop for the zebra crossing, which they are supposed to do, but the car behind will try to carry on, and it’s resulted in them rear-ending the car which has stopped to allow the crossing."
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said:
“Work has begun to replace the existing zebra crossing located at the My Lady’s Road/Ravenhill Road junction to a puffin crossing. It is expected the crossing will become operational within a number of weeks. While this work is ongoing a temporary set of signals has been installed to facilitate pedestrians who wish to cross at this location. Motorists should expect some delays in the area until the new crossing is operational.”
