A councillor says he has made his progress in his attempts to make a new junction more disabled and cyclist friendly.

Earlier this year, a busy junction at Watford Arches was redesigned and a designated pedestrian crossing was removed.

Cyclists and people with buggies or wheelchairs can no longer cross easily as there is no dropped kerb, which previously existed, at the junction of Dalton Way and Lower High Street.

Hertfordshire County Council carried out works, narrowing the traffic island. There is still only one lane approaching Dalton Way from the direction of Bushey but the works now mean there is more space for vehicles to move into the two-lane ring road.

But as part of the scheme, the pedestrian crossing was taken away and a new crossing has been built next to the Mercedes garage a little further up.

People can no longer cross the whole of Lower High Street by the Seat garage as a barrier has been put up, and instead people have no option but to cross Dalton Way onto the B&Q side of the road.

According to Lib Dem county councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, existing signs still point cyclists and pedestrians towards the junction in question as a place to cross.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst says he has been pressing the county council to rethink the new design after receiving a number of concerns about the kerb from 'unhappy' people. He says the council has agreed to carry out a safety audit.

"I have now had an urgent meeting with senior county officers to make them see sense and they have agreed to review it. I hope we will be able to discuss changes and improvements within the next few weeks.

“For many of us, putting back the dropped crossing points and allowing pedestrians to cross when the lights are red is the simple and easy solution, and I cannot see why this cannot be done. It can’t stay as it is that is for sure.”

Cars do still have to stop at the traffic lights, despite the removal of pedestrian facilities, which allows pedestrians who want to head towards the retail park the opportunity to cross Lower High Street and Dalton Way safely.