Mobility scooter user ‘disgusted’ by ‘dangerous’ crossing

Jean Rice has lived in Bolton for 30 years, and has used a mobility scooter for the last two.

Having the scooter allows Jean, who lives in the town centre, to visit shops, including a weekly trip to the market and visits to Morrisons.

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Recently, however, a faulty pedestrian crossing on Moor Lane has disrupted Jean’s journeys – leaving the 87-year-old sitting out cold in the rain.

As witnessed by The Bolton News, the Moor Lane pedestrian crossing would cancel the request after a short period of time, meaning three presses of the button were necessary to get the crossing working.

Jean said she was ‘disgusted’ by the problem, and that she had issues finding who to report the issue to.

She added: “I’ve been just sat there very wet, there’s nothing you can do. I’ve got to wait for the green man or I could be in a lot more trouble than that, because it’s a very busy road – lots of traffic.

“I’d say that those traffic lights are dangerous, because people expect them to come on when they don’t, and then they get frustrated and go across at the wrong time. I’ve seen many a near miss.”

Jean added that the crossing also does not  give much time – with the green man disappearing before she has fully crossed the road, though she said the quality of the pavements in Bolton were ‘a lot better’ than they used to be..

After The Bolton News contacted Transport for Greater Manchester, which controls the signals, the agency said it had fixed the problem.

The retiree, who is originally from Liverpool, also said she is unable to travel to Sainsbury’s on her mobility scooter, and instead relies on her daughter to take her the half-a-mile journey by car, due to small pedestrian islands at the crossings from Newport Street.

She continued: “There’s new traffic lights been put up to get to Sainsbury’s, and you have to wait in the middle of the road to get on to the other side.

“If I’m on a scooter and there are people in the middle of the road, my scooter’s back end is going to be stuck out, and that’s dangerous because the traffic is coming all kinds of ways, so I can’t cross there.

“There’s no way I can get to Sainsbury’s, not with the way it’s been made now, they’re pretty new traffic lights, they’ve probably been there a while, I don’t go that way. Everything’s in the town I want, my daughter takes me to Sainsbury’s.”

Jean says the crossing island is too small if there are others using the crossing (Image: Google)

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A Transport for Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the complaint regarding the push buttons of the crossing on Moor Lane and we’d like to thank the member of the public for alerting us to the issue.

“The signal maintenance company visited the site earlier today and we can confirm that the buttons are now working correctly.

“The timings of our signal-controlled pedestrian crossings follow the guidance provided by the Department for Transport and, in common with other crossings, the green man is intended to be an invitation to cross for those waiting at the kerbside.”

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “The traffic islands around Trinity St / Newport St junction all comply with the recommended width to accommodate all road users including those who use mobility scooters.

“The smallest island on the junction is 1.9m wide at the narrowest point which is above the recommended width of 1.8m. The crossing is 2.7m wide which again meets design recommendations.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk or text or WhatsApp on 07517566383.