Three SLOW signs painted on Mudeford Quay approach

In August 2020, Laurie Phillips who lives on the approach to Mudeford Quay, painting his own crossing at a dropped kerb along Chichester Way as many people, including his disabled wife, struggled to cross the street on busy days.

After a police investigation and the possibility of a council hearing, Mr Phillips was issued a community resolution order and asked to pay £130, and the markings were washed off by council staff.

Read more: Mudeford man fined after painting zebra crossing himself

He said: “The council have started painting slowing signs on the approach to Mudeford Quay. There are now three painted slow signs on the road which is similar to what I put up in the first place.

“That is probably something to do with the law change which says that everybody has got to put up stop signs on road with dropped kerbs.

“It is just ironic that they washed away the signs that I made, saying they weren’t necessary, and 18 months later, they are now painting their own signs.

“It is better than nothing, but I think I did a better job of it first time around.”

Although he is glad to see something finally done on the busy road, Mr Phillips says the council can still do more to ensure the safety of pedestrians and road users, such as lowering the speed limit and installing a zebra crossing.

He added: “It is interesting that they have put slow signs rather than indicated a speed change. Not many people are going to reduce their speed for a slow sign, they’ll only do it if there is a speed limit change or a speed camera.

“They haven’t put up any electronic signs so people will know how many parking are available on the quay and when the car park is full. That would be useful, especially during the summer months as it would stop the endless queues of cars idling as they wait for a parking space.

“They need to put slow signs on the top road as well as people do come tearing along that road, especially in the evenings.”

BCP Council has confirmed that it has received a crossing request in Chichester Way and that an assessment is to be carried out to determine whether it will be installed or not this summer.

A BCP Council spokesman said: “The 'slow' line markings were installed following discussions around what can be done to keep both road users and pedestrians safe on Chichester Way. We are pleased that this has been completed by our lining team as it is still an active safety measure whilst crossing requests are reviewed.

“We can confirm a crossing request has been submitted for this area. We have many requests to assess but we aim to conduct a site visit in the coming months around April or May.

“By ‘assess’ we mean visiting the site for a number of hours physically counting all vehicle traffic and pedestrians crossing. We need to carry out these assessments at the busiest time possible, which means we will carry out our visit here when we expect warmer weather and more visitors.”