Teesside Park's new safety measures praised as 'much better' by some shoppers

Teesside Park's new safety measures prompted one shopper to say they were spoiling the experience and that "everyone is going mad" about it - but some Teesside Live readers think the opposite.

The retail park has blocked off some of it's crossing points between the car park and the shop frontages with planters, as part of a review into safety on the site coming up its busiest period. A Teesside Park spokesperson said: "This includes closing off some of the non-marked crossing points, and adding extra safety measures to our key crossing points including Belisha Beacons and new road markings.”

But anonymous shopper grumbled and said: "It’s bad enough contemplating Teesside Park with the poor traffic system. Now if it’s raining you can’t just run into the shop you are wanting to visit because you’ve parked close to it, you’ve got to walk all the way round to find an entrance that’s open.

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"They’re slowly spoiling what should be a pleasant experience. They’ve taken away the canopy so you get wet, now they’ve blocked entrances to the footpath with planters. No wonder people shop online."

Not everyone agrees that the changes are a bad thing though, as proved in our comments section. Reader Mindy21 says: “I was there yesterday and I thought it was much better! The cars are no longer stopping constantly to let people over, other than at the crossings, therefore you certainly get parked easier.”

Commenter Snackajack also thinks that it's a safer solution for drivers: “I get it, it is a little frustrating but it’s more frustrating when people just walk from those access points in front of your car and you have no option but to stop and let them cross, because the day someone gets knocked over and hurt, it’ll be the drivers fault!”

Callthisanewspaper writes: “There are designated walkways and crossings right the way through the car park, its not Teesside Park’s fault people are too lazy to use them. It's a real shame the shops aren’t drive-in.”

2Commonsense thinks that they could've done better: “All they had to do was put a zebra crossing where Boots is, it's one of the busiest shops there. No-brainer this one!”

Cheesegrater says: "The worst official crossing point is at M&S. How nobody has been wiped out is amazing. Also many drivers are entering and exiting in the wrong direction."

Wisteria thinks that some people will struggle with the new layout: "There is already congestion on the entrances at Boots' side and PC World's side, can you imagine what it will be like during December? I am disabled and Boots was always a no-no for me, because the crossing point was too far away for me to walk after I had found parking space."

Have your say! Have Teesside Park got it right with their new safety measures? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.