People tell of near-death experiences on Merseyside road where you can't trust the green man

The experiences have become all to common for the residents of the Park Lane estate as they described their fear of crossing Dunnings Bridge Road, after the removal of a well-used public bridge.

The footbridge had been located over the A5036 for decades, and was a place where families could safely cross the four-lane carriageway, but that was demolished after a traffic accident in 2022.

In August of this year, the LDRS reported on National Highways’ (NH) decision to shelve plans for a new footbridge. At the time, Sefton Council told the LDRS that highways has “gone back on its commitment” to replace the footbridge over the A5036 and accused it of disregarding the wishes of the local community, many of whom described the road as an ‘accident waiting to happen’.

There was an accident on the road earlier this week (November 25) when police reported a lorry had crashed with a mobility scooter. The rider of the mobility scooter, a man in his 90s, is believed to have suffered a serious leg injury. The driver of the HGV stopped at the scene and assisted police with enquiries.

Although the circumstances of that accident are unknown, it has shaken up the local community who are calling on National Highways to reconsider plans to reinstate the footbridge. To find out more about the impact of this week’s events, the LDRS visited the area and asked people what they thought.

As we were waiting to cross Dunnings Bridge Road, we got speaking to Philomena Farrell, 85, who was on her way to church. Ms Farrell has lived on the Park Lane estate for the last twenty years and frequently used the old footbridge to get across, what she says has always been a very busy carriageway.

Ms Farrell said: “It’s no longer safe to cross this road, not at this point, and especially for the children.

“Just recently, I was on the middle island, the green man was on, and one of the drivers, conveyed to me to cross. Everything had stopped, so I was on the inside lane crossing past this car.

“Don’t ask me why I stopped, but I did, and as I did, a car shot past from behind the back of this car, and I’d have been killed if I had been straight across. So no, it’s not a safe place at all.

“It must have been that he wanted to get on the outside lane, and that’s how I would have been killed so, I’ve got no faith in these crossings.”

The A5036 divides two residential areas on its route to and from the port of Liverpool and sees a huge amount of traffic, especially at peak times. Also known as Dunnings Bridge Road, it splits the Park Lane housing estate and Our Lady Of Walsingham Primary School, which serves the communities on either side.

It means, parents are taking their children to and from school and having to use the one pedestrian crossing on that part of the A5036. It also means people have to walk a significant distance to use the one available crossing area.

Nicola McGinn, 50, has lived on the estate for the last 13 years and used to take her kids across it every day on their way to the primary school, she said: “Since the bridge went, it’s been terrible getting over this road, especially in the scooter.

“The footbridge was so much safer for all of us and we didn’t have to worry about the kids. Nowadays, it’s not safe even when the lights are on red, because sometimes the wagons stop on one side, sometimes over the crossing and you can’t see what’s on the other side. There’s times when cars and lorries just totally ignore the fact that the travel lights are on red and just drive straight through.

“There’s been a few times when I’ve had to reverse my scooter in the middle of the road to go back off it, because the cars just flew past through the traffic lights being on red.

“All the estate wants is the footbridge to return, with everyone trying to cross the road in this state, with the kids, it’s just atrocious.”

Cllr Marion Atkinson, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “We have been working with the Police since the incident happened (November 25) to review the circumstances of this dreadful accident and wish the gentleman a speedy recovery.

“As we have said all along we, like our residents, want a bridge over Dunnings Bridge Road to replace the one that was removed. This incident I believe reinforces our position.

“We understand that National Highways have instead proposed a road junction crossing but we simply do not agree that this is the right solution.”

A spokesperson for National Highways told the LDRS it is aware of the latest incident on the A5036, but said it would be inappropriate to comment further while investigations are in progress.

Responding previously to concerns raised by the local community in September, a National Highways spokesperson said: “We’re upgrading the Park Lane junction with A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road to deliver cyclist and pedestrian crossing points on all four of its arms, creating easier and safer journeys for everyone.

“We completed a feasibility study on replacing the footbridge over the A5036, but current design requirements mean it would not work and was unaffordable – so we are exploring options that work best for cyclists, parents with pushchairs and people with mobility issues.”

However, lots of people on the Park Lane estate remain unconvinced. People like young mums, Chloe and Maggie who we met just after they dropped their children off at Our Lady Of Walsingham Primary School.

Chloe said: “It’s a nightmare. Getting over to the other side takes too long, and when the green man comes on here, you get stuck on the island and have to wait for the next lights.

“I’m constantly telling my kids to be very, very careful because you can’t just rely on the green man here. Some cars don’t stop because they can’t see the crossing because the build up of big lorries and traffic.

“I remember one time I was trying to cross and woman didn’t even see these lights and went through. I had to scream at her, so I tell my kids that just because the green man is there doesn’t mean go, I have to say it’s only safe when all the cars have stopped and not to assume anything.

“This is the only crossing point for everyone on the estate and all the kids and families that need to get to the other side. It is an accident waiting to happen.”

These sentiments were shared by Maggie, who said: “It’s absolute chaos and I don’t think the new plans will solve that.

“There’s been working going on here for about a year now, and they’re building a cycle path over the cycle path that was already there. In the meantime, all this pavement is cut off and everything is even more congested and hard to cross than it was before.”