Councillor petitions for pedestrian crossing on 'dangerous' A421 slip road in Bedford

Councillor Leigh Coombs is petitioning for a pedestrian crossing on the A421 exit slip road near Shortstown.

In a statement to the press, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Shortstown dubbed the slip road dangerous and is calling for the council to work with National Highways.

He said residents have been concerned about their children walking or cycling to Bedford Academy and many have chosen to bar them because of the danger of the road.

Many other Shortstown residents use the A600 route to access Bedford and Kingsbrook residents use it to access Shortstown.

Cllr Coombs says the entry slip road does have an appropriate crossing in place but said crossing the exit slip can be dangerous task.

He contacted National Highways in October, which he says it would not support any changes as there have been no casualties since 2017.

He said: “This is not good enough and seems to indicate we must wait until one of our children is seriously hurt before we can do anything about this. I have since contacted the council and asked for the route to be reassessed, which they have agreed to do following a rise in population in the area.

“When I stood for election, I said that my neighbours and community deserve the right to have a wonderful home and local area that they can enjoy. Children ought to be happy and smiling, growing up in the best possible way. I want to remove parents’ and carers’ worry and improve the safe routes for all to enjoy Bedford and allow others to enjoy our historic village.”

Cllr Coombs has also met with Bedford Academy head, Chris Deller, who supports his campaign for a safer crossing.

Mr Deller said: “A review of the current A421 slip road at the Shortstown junction is welcomed by everyone in our school community, particularly as it has the potential to significantly improve the safety and wellbeing of students and staff travelling to school.”

Cllr Coombs added: “If you want to see a safe pedestrian crossing on this junction, please sign my petition. Every signature can help with this campaign and reduce the danger to our residents and children.”

You can access and sign Cllr Coombs’ petition here