Update: Just gotten word the underpass has been filled with concrete and the area has been completely flattened. I honestly can’t believe this small underpass going under Queens Drive has gone. I feel my voice has not been heard. Thousands of cars go through Swindon everyday, and this particular road is a dual carriageway. These pedestrian walkways are there for a reason. I just feel so frustrated and let down. The council should be creating more accessibility in such a big town not removing it. 

The subway going under Queens Drive (A4259) to Lawns Park is about to be filled in. This will force pedestrians to level cross the busy dual carriageway. I feel this is very unsafe, considering many kids from the nearby secondary school use the underpass plus many locals including me, plus others simply wanting to walk their dog in the park. It is used as a way for us to pass safely under the very busy road, but now it seems that will drastically change.

The existing southbound carriageway will become a single lane to accommodate the crossing, which many believe makes no sense as Queens Drive is a major route for the emergency services and a main route to the hospital. This will no doubt increase traffic on a road already infamous for it. Many also believe it is a “death trap waiting to happen” with cars forced to suddenly stop from up to 40+ mph on route that many school children often pass through, especially in the mornings. 

Out of 125 responses received via public notices earlier this year, only 5 were for this proposal. The majority of local residents to not want this underpass removed. So I’m very surprised it has even been allowed to go ahead. The toucan crossing that will replace it is nearing completion. Soon after that workers at Knights Brown Construction Ltd will start filling it in. Any day now work will begin so time is of the essence.

Many people have also pointed out hypocrisy that underpasses on Drakes Way, Station road and Bristol Street are being refurbished/updated and potentially costing up to £3m. Whilst this one is being decommissioned, seemingly due to reasons that underpasses don’t fit todays modern safety standards.
So why then some but not others and why couldn’t this underpass have simply been refurbished? It’s a very small subway linking Park South to Lawns so I doubt it would of cost that much money. The inconsistency and double standard is what baffles many Swindon residents. Especially considering £30m is being spent on Fleming Ways new bus boulevard, however the maintenance cost is too high for this small underpass that’s been around since the 1960s?

For me personally, the sudden decommissioning of this underpass is affecting my mental health. I often use this route to walk into town. It’s something I’m familiar with and enjoy doing. Something that I don’t want to change. And many others feel the same. Why create this East to West separation in such a big town? Surely the central dual carriageway of all roads in Swindon should have its pedestrian friendly underpasses protected, not filled in.

The decent thing would be to keep both the new toucan crossing and the underpass. To at least give people like me on the spectrum the option to walk under the busy dual carriageway. Allowing people at night to avoid the underpass if they wish to. Surely that’s fair. Also if both were kept less people would use the crossing, so overall congestion would ease substantially.

What harm could it possibly do to keep both? At least give the local community that option to safely walk under the A4259 if they so desire. That would be fair to both parties, even more so considering this underpass is in the middle of the dual carriageway. Also, I don’t understand the logic of allowing bikes to speed through the town centre, which they often do as it’s not monitored at all. But then saying the underpass is not wide enough for bikes and pedestrians, which it has been for over 50 years anyway. It just feels very hypocritical to me. 

Sometimes communities need to rally together to fight for a just cause. We are the ones being served not the other way round. If anything could possibly be done, the locals of this town would be very grateful, especially the elderly and disabled whom benefit most from these underpasses remaining.