Work starts on five new pedestrian crossings

The site of one of the new crossings on Portsmouth Road, near to the junction with Botley Road

Work for five new pedestrian crossings on an A-road is getting underway.

Two zebra crossings and three continuous crossings will be built on Portsmouth Road in Southampton, Hampshire.

Southampton City Council said the work would be delivered in four phases over the spring and summer, and traffic management would be in place for each.

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for environment and transport, said the crossings would reduce accidents and make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to "access essential community facilities".

The two zebra crossings will be near the junctions with Spring Road and Botley Road, whilst the continuous crossings will be at Fort Road, Adey Close and The Grove.

The council said the continuous crossings would "reinforce" pedestrian priority introduced to the Highway Code in 2022.

The zebra crossing near Spring Road will be the first to be built, followed by Fort Road in June, and then Botley Road and Adey Close in July and August.

There will be temporary traffic lights during the works at Spring Road, which will be manually controlled at peak times.

The Spring Road junction will also be closed throughout to provide a storage and welfare area.

The work is funded by the Department for Transport's (DfT) Safer Roads Fund.

The council said the new crossings would reduce conflict between pedestrians and traffic without significantly affecting journey times.

"These new pedestrian crossings will help people walking, wheeling and cycling to safely cross a significant route into the city centre in key locations," said Mr Keogh.