A new pedestrian crossing completed as part of the Daleside Road Improvements Scheme has been welcomed by people living nearby.
Residents in the Candle Meadow area have been calling for an easier way to cross the road for some time, and this week Nottingham City Council completed work on a new toucan crossing.
Dales Ward councillors David Mellen, Gul Nawaz Khan and Neghat Nawaz Khan were joined by several residents to celebrate the crossing becoming operational.
Cllr Mellen said: “Daleside Road is a busy route into the city, and residents living in the Candle Meadow area have wanted a safe place to cross for some time. We are asking people to be patient while this improvement scheme takes place, and I’m pleased we have been able to do our bit for people living in the area by delivering this new crossing.”
Pam O’Connor, who lives in Crabtree Field, said: “It’s so awkward to get across the road. It’s not now and again, there’s traffic all the time and it’s going quite fast. It’s especially difficult for elderly people to get across carrying shopping.
“We have wanted this for a long time and it’s great – it’s going to be well used.”
Henrietta Waller, who has lived in Candle Meadow for 10 years, added: “It’s a lot safer for children. The new houses across the road are mostly family homes, and now we’ve got a safe crossing they can use, and people coming out of the pub after a meal can get to the bus stop.”
Work began in October 2016 to carry out a series of improvements on Daleside Road, which will reduce bus journey times, improve facilities for cyclists and pedestrians and see the introduction of the UK’s first shared bus and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) priority lane.
The scheme is part of wider improvements to better connect Gedling in the east to the new Boots Enterprise Zone in the west, and help to improve air quality and reduce emissions on a key route into the city. New electric and biogas buses have already been introduced.
One section of the new bus lane is now open, cycle improvements are mostly complete, and work to provide more than 2.5km of continuous priority lanes is due to finish at the end of February 2018. The ULEV lane is expected to be ready for use in the spring.