WIDENED footpaths, a one-way system and pedestrian crossings are some of the new measures suggested to make Upton a safer place.

Following complaints about traffic, Malvern Hills Highways Partnership commissioned Halcrow to conduct a survey of the speed and volume of vehicles passing through town.

As a result, Halcrow, which carried out the recent Upton viaduct rebuild, has now drawn up two sets of proposals for traffic-calming measures.

Option one includes reducing on-street parking space in Old Street, opposite Upton Social Club, from 100 to 65 metres. Footpaths would be widened near the post office and Memorial Hall and priority given to traffic coming from the High Street end. A toucan crossing would also be created near Swanland Lodge and a crossing in Church Street near the Pepperpot.

In New Street, on-street parking would be reduced from 71 to 51 metres, give way signs would be erected at the junction of Rectory Road, Minge Lane and School Lane and 'slow' markings would be painted along Minge Lane.

Option two is similar to the first but involves removing on-street parking in Old Street and replacing it with no waiting restrictions, making Court Street one-way and putting a pedestrian refuge on High Street, near the TIC.

Mayor John Thompson said: "Certainly the traffic in Old Street is a problem. There have been several reported injuries from people who have been hit by wing mirrors."

A Halcrow consultant will attend a meeting of the town council on June 22, to answer questions. A public consultation is likely to follow.