Ely residents no longer face long waits to cross Cambridge Road in Ely, thanks to a new pedestrian crossing.

The new zebra crossing, due to open this week, is placed near the junctions of Barton Road and Tower Road, which is a heavily used crossing point for pedestrians coming from the west of the city to access the railway station and central Ely.

Anna Bailey, county councillor for Ely South and West made the successful application on behalf of Cambridge Road residents.

She said “Cambridge Road is one of the busiest streets in Ely and I am delighted to see the delivery of this much needed crossing.

“I would like to thank the City of Ely Council for their support and all the local residents that backed the bid.

“I hope that the zebra crossing will encourage drivers to slow down and it should also improve visibility for cyclists and drivers turning right out of Barton Road as well as providing a safe crossing point for pedestrians.”

Cllr Bailey organised a petition to back the bid which was enthusiastically supported by more than 100 residents of the Cambridge Road area - 100 per cent of residents asked for their support signed the petition.

The bid was also backed by the then Mayor of Ely, Cllr Lis Every, and fellow councillors at the City of Ely Council who also contributed funding. Lucy Frazer MP, county and district councillors, and Ely Police also supported the bid.

Cllr Bailey said: “Residents are hoping that the new crossing will give Cambridge Road more of a residential feel, and less of that of a big through road, and will encourage traffic to proceed at a more respectful pace.”

The crossing is thanks to a successful bid to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Local Highways Improvement (LHI) scheme for a pedestrian crossing.

The LHI is run by Cambridgeshire County Council to help local communities make improvements to the highways in their area.

The scheme invites community groups to submit proposals for funding and gives local people an influence over highway improvements in their area.

Schemes are delivered on a jointly funded basis with applicants able to apply up to £10,000 as a contribution to their scheme.

The applicant is expected to provide a minimum contribution towards each project of at least 10 per cent of the total scheme cost.

This enables applicants to deliver minor improvements for as little as £500.