Over 100 local residents attended a public meeting held at the Wavendon Hub on 12 June to voice concerns over road safety and other highways issues across the Parish of Wavendon, in Milton Keynes.
The residents also gathered to hear proposals from MK City Council (MKCC) Highways Officers relating to Walton Road. At the start of the meeting, MKCC Highways Officer Murray Woodburn set out solutions and proposed road speed reductions on a number of routes within the parish, including Cranfield Road, Lower End Road, Cross End, and Newport Road – all of which were warmly welcomed and supported by the majority of residents.
Murray Woodburn (Traffic & Transportation Manager) and Keith Wheeler (Road Safety Officer) then presented a series of options ranging from road closure to do nothing for the future of the Walton Road route which contains a notorious sharp and narrow double bend, famously the subject of a John Lewis Logistics department training video some months ago. Cllr David Hopkins (Chairman of Wavendon Parish Council) chaired the meeting taking questions from residents and logging concerns and proposals from the floor.
Cllr Hopkins commented, “It is clear that is no one simple or unanimously supported solution to this seemingly intractable problem and whatever is decided upon, following a series of consultations on options and then a consultation on a final scheme, will not be supported by everyone. However, we are delighted by the personal commitment Mr Woodburn has shown into identifying a solution to this problem and the whole village looks forward to seeing the process pan out over the months ahead. All of us want to see road safety improvements made for the sake of pedestrians (many being parents and children heading to school or nursery) and cyclists as the levels of rat running traffic have increased significantly to intolerable levels in recent years”.
Following the meeting, it is proposed to hold a local consultation managed by MKCC over the summer months leading to a second consultation putting forward the more favoured scheme later in the year - with a view to implementing the solution (or solutions) sometime in 2025.
