RESIDENTS have said no to themed pedestrian crossings across the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, so the idea has been scrapped.

The council has announced the results of the month-long consultation to add crossings with a theme or message in both Windsor and Maidenhead to celebrate either the borough’s heritage, communities, volunteers, charities, unsung heroes, or the NHS.

The majority of respondents, 82 per cent, were against the idea – therefore, the idea won’t be progressed.

Some of the comments on social media about the idea included:

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“If you want to thank ‘volunteers, charities and unsung heroes’, spend the money on something that directly benefits them, or donate to the services they provide. A fancy pedestrian crossing is just another pointless round of applause.”

“Some might say this is a waste of money, but for those people fighting battles of their own, daily, seeing something like this could be the thing to brighten their day or change their mindset.”

“I am all for celebrating people but on roads? Are themed crossings even safe? We all learn that the flashing lights and black and white stripes are a crossing and you slow and stop for people to cross. I’d hate for them to be a distraction and the worse case scenario happen…”

“Absolute waste of public money. Give it to the people who provide these services.”

Former council leader, Simon Dudley, said: "What a complete and utter waste of time and money in a pandemic. Concentrate on the important stuff please."

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Councillor Gerry Clark (Conservative: Bisham and Cookham), lead member for highways and infrastructure, said: “Having seen how other local authorities have successfully installed Pride crossings or painted thank you signs on their roads during the coronavirus pandemic, we wanted to give Royal Borough residents the opportunity to have their say on whether to do something similar within our communities.

“It is important that local people have a say in what happens in their borough so we asked for residents’ feedback on the idea. I’d like to thank everyone who responded to survey and shared their views, the majority of you were against the idea so we’ve listened to your feedback and we won’t be proceeding with themed crossings.

“We remain committed to celebrating the uniqueness of the Royal Borough and the wonderful people who live and work here and will continue to seek out new ways to do so in the future.”