Rick's St Mary's Diary

After concern from a number of local residents, I have been speaking to the Council about the future of the junction of St Ann’s Road and Bury New Road. This is a very odd junction, with a pedestrian crossing and a set of traffic lights for cars very close to one another. Often the two sets of lights aren’t synchronised, meaning that cars often unintentionally run through red lights thinking that both sets have changed when in fact only one set has.

I conveyed the concerns of St Mary’s Lib Dems and the residents who had contacted me, and today received a very positive response from the Council. Following our intervention, they have put improvements to the junction on their list of work for the year, and intend to replace the current arrangements with a single combined car/pedestrian crossing. This will make the entire junction simpler and safer.

Work will commence after the Summer. Before then, there are scheduled to be no road works on Bury New Road through Prestwich, as part of the mitigating measures in place to compensate for the closure of the Metrolink track. On this closure issue, we are still none the wiser – still no response from GMPTE on the precise alternative arrangements in place, and still no more comfort for residents likely to be affected. GMPTE and Bury's Labour council assured residents that full plans would be communicated "nearer to the time of the closure." The closure is now only a month away, so how close to the time were they thinking?! As soon as I get information I will share it on the blog. But until then we are all in the dark.

Rick