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Woman scared of crossing road due to speedy green man

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
Ruth Leach A traffic light crossing. Across the road is a residential home that is three storeys tall. There is a red car waiting behind the traffic lights.Ruth Leach
Some residents have become fearful of using a crossing at the busy town centre crossroads

People living in a retirement home have been left scared to cross their road due to concerns that the green man does not beep for long enough for them to reach the other side.

Some living in Suffolk Place in Woodbridge have raised concerns about the crossing outside their building, which is on a busy junction in the Suffolk town.

Resident Gail Ratcliffe, 76, has tested it herself and did not even make it halfway before the red man reappeared, and she feared an accident could happen.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Highways said the green man signal indicated it was safe to begin walking and sensors could extend the usual crossing time.

Gail Ratcliffe A woman sits in an armchair and smiles at the camera. She has short grey hair and wears a red jumper with a red and yellow necklace. Gail Ratcliffe
Gail Ratcliffe said some of the other residents could struggle to cross the road

Ratcliffe said she became concerned after looking out of her window and noticed the "short period" the green man symbol was on, and then she tested it herself.

"I did it yesterday. It goes off after three steps and then it goes back to red which doesn't give people long enough," she said.

"I'm very able-bodied, but there are people here that live at Suffolk Place that are not.

"It's right outside of our front door. It's just quite scary because most people are elderly here and some people are much slower than others."

Gail Ratcliffe A road junction where there is a traffic light crossing. Two cars are ahead travelling along a road to the right. Gail Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe also highlighted that the lines around the crossing had faded slightly

Suffolk Place has 39 flats and offers independent living for residents aged 55 and above.

The home is on Lime Kiln Quay Road at a traffic lights-controlled crossroads which also serves traffic using the Thoroughfare main shopping street and St John's Street.

"I've seen people coming through a red light with bicycles literally tearing around that corner, then straight through the red light," Ratcliffe continued.

"It's really hard for people to cross the road and feel safe. It's just really quite frightening."

Ben Parker/BBC A head and shoulders image of a woman wearing a black jacket with a yellow rosette pinned to a lapel. She is wearing a necklace with a green pendant and smiling while looking into the camera.Ben Parker/BBC
Woodbridge's Liberal Democrat councillor Ruth Leach said the residents' concerns were a "priority" for her

Ratcliffe has raised the issue with Liberal Democrat county councillor for Woodbridge, Ruth Leach.

Leach said she would be meeting residents and the county council's Suffolk Highways department about it.

"With our elderly demographic in Woodbridge, this is particularly important," she said.

"There are also a number of people now walking up from Melton and that's the best and only place to really cross that road, so it's a very important crossing."

Leach said she had measured the crossing time herself and said the green man went off after about four seconds, before the car traffic lights changed at 10 seconds, which she still felt was not enough time, even with sensors that can extend that time.

A Suffolk Highways spokesperson said: "The green man signal indicates that it is safe to begin crossing, not the total time available to cross.

"Sensors on the crossing detect pedestrians and can extend the safe crossing period if needed.

"Officers have offered to meet with local residents to demonstrate how the crossing works and help address concerns."

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