Road Safety Update - get knocked down and you might get a safer crossing

11.11.31am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 15th Sep 2008

Not a common site in Tameside

Tameside MBC have sent a reply in response to our query about road crossings. It leaves more questions than answers. We are a bit concerned that it appears that someone has to be injured before the council will consider improved pedestrian facilities at a junction. We would also like to know what a 'signallised junction' with pedestrian facilities attached really means. If it is just some traffic lights with the raised pavement but which have no green man facility then I think the statistics are very misleading because they are not adequate for crossing safely. We would also like to know what the 'audit commissions criteria for disabled access facilities' are. However, at least we have a response which gives us something to build on.

Original reply:

Tameside MBC has 137 traffic signal controlled crossings be it signallised junctions, pelican crossing or puffin crossings. 117 of these facillities have pedestrian facillities assigned to them with 101 of these meeting the audit commissions criteria for disabled access facilities. The percentage is some 86% and is rising all the time with due to funding through the capital. The latest estimate to do works on the BT roundabout the provide signals and pedestrian facilities on all arms of the junction (and remove the subways) was in excess of £0.5million. The junction at the ASDA access has also been invesstigated and no crossing can be provided at the current time due to accesses opposite ASDA and the operating sysyems in place for ASDA itself. Through the Local Safety Scheme programme all injury accidents are monitored and if it is found that the accidents at a junction are mainly pedestrians , then a system is in place to provide pedestrian red green men. Unfortunately, all schemes compete against each other and essentially the authority operate a 'worse first' policy with the locations and areas with the highest accident rate treated first. I will arrange for the junctions to be investigated and assessed on there own merits. Thank you for bringing this to my attention