RESIDENTS are objecting to a plan to close an underpass in Park South and replace it with a pedestrian crossing.

Swindon Council is proposing to close the underpass running under Queens Drive from Kirby Close.

The council says the underpass is old, unsafe and regularly vandalised.

But residents believe the plans are a waste of money and will in fact make it more dangerous for pedestrians.

Jonathan Myler, 42, of Kirby Close, said the underpass was very much used and did not see why the council wanted to replace it.

“To me this sounds very stupid,” he said. “The subway is the main walkway to the Lawn woods and a much safer way of crossing the road and this has no disturbance to the flow of traffic to the drivers using Queens Drive.

“So many school children and dog walkers use this subway every day to get to school, so why does the council feel it is safer for them to cross the road rather than use the subway?”

He added that he had lived in Kirby Close all his life and there had never been a serious attack in the subway.

He said sometimes there had been minor instances of anti-social behaviour over the years but he and his neighbours felt it was silly to close the subway when it was used by hundreds of people every day.

He added: “We feel this subway should stay open. Surely there should be a discussion on what people think about this closure, not just ‘We are doing it and we don’t care what people think’.”

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: “The underpass was built in the 1950s when the road was put in, and the lighting, ramp and railing designs just aren’t up to modern standards, and it’s also far too narrow.

“We know a lot of people avoid it, especially women, because they don’t feel safe.

“It’s also regularly vandalised.

“In the long run it’s going to be more cost-effective to replace it with a pedestrian crossing, and work to put that in should begin in September.

“Because it’s a public right of way we have to get permission from the Magistrates’ court to close it, and this will be heard on the 8th of June. We will be putting diversions in place.”