Random memory: pedestrians crossing a motorway

[pne]

I remember how we drove down a motorway from Harwich to Leicester, and at one point, there was a pedestrian crossing.

As I recall, there was a public footpath there whose route crossed the road at that point, and when the road was upgraded to a motorway, they kept the path of the public footpath intact.

There were steps up and down the banks(?) that had been constructed (presumably to reduce noise) on either side of the motorway, and lines painted across the surface of the road, and a small pedestrian island in the middle; there were also warning signs to motorists.

I presume that the expected low number of travellers along that footpath, along with the hallowed status of public footpaths, contributed to this rare(?) situation where a pedestrian may cross a motorway.

Comments

A14, not M14

[blech.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect you're talking about the A14, which goes from Felixstowe to somewhere around Coventry, and perhaps another road (Google suggests the A6) from Kettering northwards. Neither is a motorway, although the A14 was upgraded in the early '90s (when it used to be the A45) and is now grade-seperated dual carriageway pretty much from end to end.

If the A14 were a true motorway, there's no way there'd be a pedestrian crossing. As it is, I'm still surprised it exists, especially since roads in cuttings make it relatively easy to build footbridges. I wonder where it is?

Re: A14, not M14

[pne.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect you're talking about the A14, which goes from Felixstowe to somewhere around Coventry

Ah, yes; having looked on a map now, that seems like it.

and perhaps another road (Google suggests the A6) from Kettering northwards.

IIRC we took the M1 from the end of the A14 near Rugby, since we were actually heading for Blaby rather than Leicester itself. But the place I was thinking of was almost certainly along the A14 somewhere.

the A14 was upgraded in the early '90s (when it used to be the A45) and is now grade-seperated dual carriageway pretty much from end to end.

Ah, that was what I was thinking of, then -- it "felt" like a motorway to me, but you're right, it wasn't. (Not even an "Axyz(M)".)

It still seemed odd to me to see that pedestrian crossing across a dual-carriageway road with a median in between.

[fridoline.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was an upgraded A-road. Iirc there even was one bridle path...