Pedestrians who fought a four year campaign to install a pelican crossing on a congested road were celebrating today after the council approved the scheme.

Councillors have agreed to spend £62,200 on the new crossing which will stretch across Swainhouse Road which leads into the Five Lane Ends roundabout at Eccleshill.

A campaign to build the safety crossing was started because the roundabout - which Council estimates said carried 47,000 vehicles a day - had no formal crossings.

Last December one crossing was built across Bradford Road but many residents were still struggling to get across Swainhouse Road to the Morrisons supermarket.

One fervent campaigner Pat Clarke, of Idle Road, was even forced to catch the bus to the supermarket rather than walk the 200 yards to the supermarket because it was too dangerous to cross.

Councillor Allan Hillary (Bolton, Lib Dem) said after the Highways meeting: "It's good news for the protesters and certainly from the point of view of the elderly and the school children who live in the Five Lane Ends area.

"Local residents have campaigned for four hard years and I have received the most letters and complaints out of any of any matter about this crossing in my five years as a councillor. It is a victory for the pedestrians."

Coun Hillary said a campaign to improve safety for residents living on Highfield Road would continue.

According to a Metropolitan Accident Study carried out in 1996 in Bradford and District the roundabout came 13th out of 67 as a site for concern.

Pedestrian safety became an issue after the roundabout was remodelled to accommodate two lanes of traffic in 1986 after the Enterprise Five Development was built.

The money for the latest crossing will come from the £120,000 pedestrian Strategy Budget which comes under the Transport package Capital Programme for 1998/99.

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