A CALL for a review into pedestrian safety in Worcester has been made by a leading politician.
Coun Joy Squires is urging her fellow city councillors to get behind her campaign which she launched following the death of pensioner Sylvia Russell who was hit by a bin lorry in The Shambles last September.
A survey was carried out by Coun Squires asking for people’s views on allowing vehicles into pedestrianised areas with just under half of respondents saying they felt it was dangerous.
A motion will now be put to Worcester City Council at a meeting next Tuesday (February 24) asking for a safety review.
It reads: “In light of recent incidents that have highlighted safety issues for pedestrians in Worcester’s pedestrianised streets, Worcester City Council calls on Worcestershire County Council as Highways Authority to review safety arrangements for pedestrians in Worcester city centre, including a review of access arrangements for vehicles in pedestrianised streets.
The motion also asks managing director, Duncan Sharkey, to write to Clare Marchant, chief executive of Worcestershire County Council, to ask for a review.
Dozens of tributes were left for 69-year-old Miss Russell, from Dent Close, after she died on September 29.
Coun Squires added: “I have long thought that safety was an issue in Worcester’s pedestrianised streets but the tragic death of Sylvia Russell brought this into sharp relief.
“It is clear from the responses to my survey that many people feel the same and they overwhelmingly back changes to the times vehicles are allowed access to the pedestrianised areas of the city centre.
“That is why I am asking Worcester City Council to back me in asking the county council, as Highways Authority, to look again at the safety issues pedestrians face in the city centre and bring forward proposals to improve safety.”
