Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
June 1, 2009
IT TOOK decades of campaigning by a community too terrified to use crime-ridden underpasses to get a surface crossing approved - but now they could be set to get two.
Just months after the first pelican crossing to provide access to Napier University's new Sighthill Campus was approved for Calder Road, transport chiefs are poised to consider proposals for a second surface crossing half a mile up the road.
Edinburgh Council has put recommendations to place crossing number two outside Parkhead shops, at the eastern end of Calder Road, to the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee for consideration later in the summer.
The crossing will provide an alternative to the notorious underpasses, which could also be set to benefit from heightened security measures ranging from new lighting to CCTV cameras.
Local councillor Nick Elliot-Cannon, who presented the proposals to the council last week, said: "We want the committee to look at the options, and see whether it would be feasible to have a surface crossing that would get around the issue of the underpasses.
"The problem with underpasses is that you have to go down a ramp or stairs before you can see who's in there, and given some of the incidents we've had there, we would like surface crossings.
"The committee will now look at the practicalities of that."
The underpasses have been plagued by muggers, drug users and anti-social behaviour for decades.
The last year alone has seen assaults on two frail pensioners, a knifepoint robbery of a pregnant mother-of-two and a host of other muggings.
Criminal activity in the area has been much lower in recent months, with the area benefiting from more CCTV coverage and an increased police presence.
In addition to the new crossings, The South West Neighbourhood Partnership has proposed a series of short to long-term solutions for dealing with the underpass problem, ranging from improved lighting, mirrors and additional CCTV cameras through to their eventual replacement with level crossings or bridges.
Betty Milton, chairwoman of Sighthill, Broomhouse and Parkhead Community Council, said she was delighted to hear that a second crossing may be on the horizon.
She said: "It's fantastic news. I've been fighting for these crossings for so many years I've lost count. It will make a lot of elderly people very happy, and many young people who are also too scared to go down there.
"I'm so chuffed that we could be set to have not only one, but two alternatives to using the underpasses in future."
No comments:
Post a Comment