Campaigners on a busy Coventry road have won their battle to have a footpath installed. But their hopes it would be extended to cross a railway bridge where a person was knocked over have been dashed due to a lack of money.

A petition with more than 500 signatures was presented to the city council calling for action on Stoneleigh Road. The matter was now been considered by the cabinet member for city services, Cllr Patricia Hetherton.

In response to the petition which called for 'urgent action for pedestrian and road safety on Stoneleigh Road, Gibbet Hill', the council's head of network management, David Keaney, said the strength of feeling was clear and that the council acknowledged concerns raised. Also, the absence of a path, particularly across the bridge, presented challenges to safety.

He added: "The matter has been reviewed in detail and we have also undertaken a site meeting with Cllr Heaven and residents. Several options have been considered and our transport design team has carried out some designs on how we could provide a footway on one side of the road up to and past the railway bridge.

"It would require narrowing the carriageway to a single lane over the bridge. The estimated cost has been budgeted at over £500,000 which seems high but it has been benchmarked against other projects and reflects current material and labour costs."

With regard to the path heading north from the bridge towards the traffic island on the Kenilworth Road, he explained that the council was looking at a 780-metre stretch which would be a 'park-style' path more in keeping with the rural setting. It would also need to weave around some of the mature trees lining the road.

Mr Keaney explained that traffic lights would be needed at the railway bridge if it was narrowed to a single lane but added: "Recognising that there is a £500,000 funding requirement, we have looked at what we have to bring forward a scheme and have identified a s106 contribution of £100,000 that could bring forward the first phase."

He confirmed that the first phase would see the path installed from the bridge up to Woodfield School and added that meetings were ongoing with Warwick.

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University to discuss potential funding opportunities. Discussions are also taking place with HS2 regarding their community and environment fund.

(Header image by Nigel Mykura via geograph.org.uk)