Update: Work will end the 'walk of shame'

10:15am Friday 27th June 2008

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Refurbishment work is due to start on Borehamwood's high street on Monday, just days after uneven paving claimed its latest victim.

Engineers from Hertfordshire Highways will begin the first phase of the project by installing new energy-saving street lights in Shenley Road.No roads will be closed during the initial work, which will last until July 28.Hertsmere Borough Council leader Morris Bright hopes the improvements will turn the street into a "walk of fame, not a walk of shame".The Borehamwood & Elstree Times has reported more than half a dozen cases of pensioners being injured after falling in Shenley Road in the past year. The latest incident came on Tuesday afternoon when 78-year-old Roy Anderson suffered head injuries after falling while stepping on to the road near the junction with Furzehill Road.Mr Anderson said: "I looked down the road and saw the cars going up Furzehill Road. I thought I'd go across but I wasn't in a hurry. "I went down with a bang and didn't even have a chance to put my hand out. There was a lot of blood - my wife was covered. "Usually I'm very careful and, although the road was in a bad state, I'm not planning to take the matter any further."Mr Anderson, of Milland Court, Borehamwood, was taken by ambulance to Barnet Hospital where he was treated for a head injury before being released on Tuesday evening.Work has been scheduled for the summer to minimise disruption and comes after Three Valleys Water replaced water mains in February and March. The new lamp posts will have brighter bulbs to help enhance the quality of CCTV footage.Two further phases will follow during the school summer holiday period and will include:

• Repairing crossing points to ensure a high standard

• Resurfacing the carriageway from Theobald Street to the Tesco roundabout

• Installing the latest cycle parking stations, allowing cyclists to park their bikes more securely

• Refurbishing bus stops and changing kerbs to make access easier for buggies and wheelchairs

Mr Bright added: "These improvements cannot come a moment too soon. The road leading from the station to Elstree Film Studios should be a walk of fame, not a walk of shame."Though it will be noisy and inconvenient, I hope disruption will be kept to a minimum. Let's also hope that once the road is sorted out it won't be dug up again in a hurry." In April, former councillor Jack Gardner received £8,500 compensation from Hertfordshire County Council. He underwent emergency surgery after tripping on an uneven paving slab outside All Saints Church in 2005.Mr Gardner said: "It's taken a long time for me to recover. The work will improve things but the pavement is still very uneven, so they do have to do something. I'd prefer them to go back to tarmac."Amanda Hardy, of Barkers Estate Agents, has seen several falls outside her Shenley Road office. She said: "I hope this will be an end to the problems, but whenever there are paving slabs there will be problems. I nearly fell the other day."I just pray to God there are no more accidents. Elderly people do not recover well from falls like these."