Wolverhampton Railway Station road layout 'a danger' claim councillors - WATCH

Tory councillor Paul Singh and his Labour counterpart, Councillor Milkinderpal Jaspal, have joined forces to add their voices to those not happy with the new access which opened last week.

They claim there are several problems including narrow lanes, the taxi drop-off point and sharp edges on kerbstones.

Sharing their concerns is private hire taxi driver Sohail Khan.

He said: "I am really concerned about health and safety, not only for passengers but also for those who are young and elderly.

"The taxi drop-off point is a real dangerous area because if both doors are open each side then cars won't be able to manoeuvre when coming in and if anyone does open their door and another car is coming then it is very dangerous.

"Another thing I have picked up is this central 'island'. It is overwhelming.

"It is just too big and serves no purpose."

The new entrance, accessible via Corn Hill, opened on January 8. Railway Drive is now closed off to traffic.

The work, which has seen a team of 80 people on the site at any one time, is part of the city's £132 million Interchange improvements.

Council chiefs said the new entrance will enable travellers to be dropped off right at the entrance to the station, with more space for motorists to drive around the one-way drop-off system.

But on the day it opened some taxi drivers told the Express & Star the new layout is worse than before.

Councillor Singh, said: "There is a number of problems.

"There are quite a few design faults. A clear one is the outside lane, when passengers get out, they get out on the inside of the road so if a car is coming behind there is a clear danger of a collision.

"I'm also looking at the sharp edges of the kerbstones themselves. They should be rounded off.

"And there are one or two parking issues too where the spot itself is very narrow."

A Wolverhampton council spokesman said the new access had been largely well received by the public.

He added: "As we stated before going operational on January 8, there were a number of minor tasks that will be completed by the contractors in the coming weeks to put the finishing touches to this phase of the Interchange project.

"In answer to the specific concerns raised, health and safety is always at the forefront of our thinking.

"The narrow lanes have been installed following guidance in the Department for Transport's Manual for Streets to reduce traffic speeds to make the roads safer.

"The kerbs in the taxi drop-off area are also designed in such a way to reduce traffic speeds in and out of it.

"The central island is primarily intended to be a waiting area."