IT WAS installed two years ago to protect pedestrians.
But two years later, a puffin crossing on New Mill Road, Wooldale, is yet to come into operation.
The measure, aimed to help pedestrians crossing the road opposite The Sycamore Inn, was built in spring 2008.
But orange hoods placed on top of the traffic lights have never been removed.
The problem stems from a decision to allow a couple – retired teachers Robin and Angela Wray – living opposite the crossing to build a driveway for their house.
But Kirklees Council decided to install the crossing just four months after it had granted the Wrays permission for their driveway, technically known as an ‘access’.
And in February 2009, the council issued a stopping order – a legal order to block up the access – nearly two years after they originally gave it the green light.
The Wrays appealed this order and a public inquiry into the crossing was opened on October 27 and a decision by Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis was expected in early 2010.
But so far all has remained quiet.
However a spokesman for the Department for Transport which will be adjudicating the appeal said yesterday that a decision was expected in mid-May.
Angela Wray says the stopping order and the delay in processing the appeal has caused her and her husband distress.
Mrs Wray, 63, said: “They say our drive is unsafe, not that we’d mow anyone down.
“They expect us to use the side entrance and there’s no visibility and a big drop.
“It makes me feel a bit sick. It’s just how it will impinge on our lives.
“It’s like a black cloud hanging over our heads.
“You would normally put a crossing where there’s a high risk of accidents. At the moment we don’t have accidents because we have a lollipop man and so traffic goes slowly.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “The inspector’s report has been submitted and the decision is expected in mid-May.”
