New Belisha Beacons for Park Road at St Hugh's

Cllr Will Frass writes...

When I talk to people who live around St Hugh's School on Park Road several residents point out how badly lit / near inivisible the old Belisha Beacons are on the Zebra Crossing.

We all know how important safety is outside St Hugh's School - including visibility.

It was one of the reasons I kept asking for that stretch of Park Road outside the school to be re-surfaced - which is has been - at last.

The Beacons may be clear enough in the dark - but when the sun is bright - the flashing is hardly noticeable during the daytime when children are using the Zebra Crossing.

New style Beacons for better daytime visibility

A while ago, I made a formal request for Trafford to look at new-style Belisha Beacons which have an L.E.D. 'halo' making the yellow lights more visible in daylight. You see them in supermarket carparks already, but not outside our schools.

While the Council were re-surfacing the road, the Head of Highways phoned me to say that following my request he has secured a trial of new-style Belisha Beacons with the L.E.D. 'halo' - which is much more visible from a distance in daylight.

Trafford Lib Dems win vote to make crossings safer for everyone

Judging by the emails and social media messages from teachers, the school-crossing guard and local residents – it has clearly been a success.

In July, Lib Dems won a vote at the Council on their plan for the old Belisha Beacons in Trafford to be phased out when they need replacing, in favour of the new design.