Welcome crossing point for Blackpool Post Office

The council has responded to an appeal for help at Poulton Road, Grange Park by putting in a traffic island.

Pensioners had complained the road was too difficult to cross and people were having to go elsewhere rather than the nearby Texaco service station and Londis store where the post office is.

They said mobility problems mean they could not walk to the nearest crossing on Plymouth Road, making it more convenient to catch the bus and use Layton Post Office instead.

The calls were originally made in 2017, but the new traffic island has been given a guarded welcome.

Grange Park resident Terry Bennett said: “It is good to see the council listened and hopefully the island will help.

“A pelican crossing would have been better, but I guess that would have been much more expensive.

“People have had to go to Layton and many have got used to that bus journey now, but this might make them return.

“The only concern I have is that they have put in cycle lanes too which leaves the road quite narrow when cars are passing the pedestrian island.”

Peter Cunliffe, who founded the Texaco service station on the A586 in 1969, supported the residents who wanted a pedestrian crossing.

He said it was not only pensioners but also children from several local schools who needed a safer crossing point.

John Blackledge, Blackpool Council Director of Community and Environmental Services, said: “Following concerns from local residents we monitored the area and determined that a traffic island would offer a safer means for pedestrians to cross the road. Work is set to be completed imminently.”