From the
Basingstoke Gazette:
After years of residents^ concerns and complaints, the wheels are finally being put in motion for plans to build a footbridge over Bramley rail crossing.
A feasibility study is being carried out by Hampshire County Council as to whether it would be financially viable to erect the bridge over the busy crossing, which links The Street and Sherfield Road.
Currently, there is no way for pedestrians to cross over if the barriers signalling an approaching train are down. This has led to concerns about people risking their own safety by climbing over or under the barriers and dashing across the tracks.
Ranil Jayawardena, who represents Bramley and Sherfield ward on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, said that the plans were long overdue. He said: ^ve had countless people coming to me and saying that getting a footbridge would be their number one priority in Bramley. The system at the moment, where the barriers come down 10 minutes before a train arrives from Basingstoke, is simply not working. It means that people often get stranded on the other side of the station and miss their train and, worryingly, sometimes try to get across anyway, by ducking under the barriers and running across the tracks. I^ve seen people do that several times myself and it^s a real danger.^
If the study finds that building a footbridge would be viable, the project would be funded jointly by Hampshire County Council, Basingstoke Borough Council and Bramley Parish Council.
Borough councillor Rhydian Vaughan said: ^People living in Bramley have been wanting it for years and this is a big step in the right direction. However, even if we got the green light to go ahead straight away it would be a long time before we would actually be able to build the bridge. But over the next five years, we expect to see a 40 per cent increase in railway traffic so it^s extremely important that we explore every opportunity to get this footbridge built.^
