ePetition - Traffic Calming and Crossing For Carlton Hill School

Council response

Thank you for raising your concerns and presenting the petition today.
I am aware that Carlton Hill School was previously part of our Safer Routes to School programme. As a result of being part of this programme a number of safety measures were introduced following discussion with the school. This included a raised informal crossing near the junction with John Street and a raised table to slow traffic near the school entrance. We also installed two electronic school warning signs and ‘slow’ markings on the carriageway.

Consideration would have been given to introducing a signalised crossing at the time but the number and frequency of people using the crossing would not meet the minimum criteria for the safe installation of a controlled crossing. If signalised crossings are introduced at locations that do not have consistent demand throughout the day, then this can increase the risk of a failure to stop incident occurring and therefore reduce safety. In addition to this, there would be insufficient footway width at the site of the existing informal crossing to accommodate the required signal equipment whilst still providing minimum footway widths for accessibility.

I appreciate that this may not be the response that you were hoping for but as traffic calming and electronic signage are already in place at this location, it is difficult for us to offer further physical measures in this instance. In light of the concerns you have raised today, we will however review the current lines and signs and ensure that they meet current standards in terms of condition and location so that we can maximise safety within the current road layout.

As I mentioned earlier in a previous response, later this year we will be having a report about this unfair approach to how we allocate traffic calming measures, but I also want to emphasise that the agenda items today on the climate assembly and liveable city centre aim to tackle road safety in a much more forward thinking approach. Reducing the amount of cars on the road and allowing people to choose sustainable, active and public transport will help make our roads safer for all users, and that is a major priority for us as an administration.