BOROUGH OF POOLE
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – THURSDAY 26 JULY 2007
REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
MOUNT Pleasant ROAD sight line IMPROVEMENTS
1. Matter for Consideration
1.1 To consider the proposals to improve sightlines for pedestrians at the junction of Mount Pleasant Road and Parkstone Road.
2. Recommendation
2.1 It is recommended to:
(i) Approve the imposition of the relaxed sightline notice as shown on Appendix A and authorise the Head of Transportation Services to agree appropriate accommodation measures;
(ii) Approve the carriageway narrowing works and associated improvements to the pedestrian crossing point , shown on Appendix A, using developer funding;
(iii) Approve the carriageway narrowing works and associated improvements to the pedestrian crossing points , shown on Appendix B, using developer funding.
3. Information
3.1 At it’s last meeting, this Group considered proposals to impose a sightline Order to improve safety for pedestrians crossing Mount Pleasant Road at the Mount Pleasant / Parkstone Road roundabout. The Group requested further consideration of other options to reduce the implications of the Sightline Order on nearby properties.
3.2 A survey of pedestrian movements indicates that pedestrians prefer to cross in two stages at the junction, rather than divert further down Mount Pleasant Road, where there is no central island. No pedestrian accidents have been recorded in the last 3 years, but it would be hard for the Council not to take action here when the restricted visibility has been drawn to it’s attention by the Health and Safety officer of a nearby Company.
3.3 The original proposal involved a sightline Order designed to comply with the minimum stopping sight distance requirements for visibility standards, which is in itself a relaxation from the desirable stopping sight distance requirement. Informal discussions with residents resulted in a request for the notice to be relaxed and an alternative proposal was been drawn up which improved the sightline at the junction but reduced the amount of planting that would need to be removed. While this reduced sight line would not meet the design standards it would still provide a very significant safety improvement for pedestrians crossing here.
3.4 Residents are keen to retain the planting directly behind the front boundary wall so that the parking area is screened from the road. Following the last meeting, a further alternative has been investigated (Appendix A). This option involves narrowing the approach to the roundabout to allow pedestrians to get the best sightline possible at the crossing point. The proposal still requires vegetation to be cleared from private land and a sightline Order to be imposed (Appendix C), but retains the conifer hedge along the front boundary wall.
3.5 While the option shown on Appendix A provides very much less visibility for pedestrians than the other options, there are other benefits to reducing the carriageway width(pedestrians will find crossing easier, and vehicles may be slower) and the reduced impact on the frontagers could allow the improvement to be achieved more quickly. The improvements would cost Approximately £8,000 and there is Developer Funding available.
3.6 Members also raised concerns about the difficulties of crossing Mount Pleasant Road from the other direction. While the sightline is slightly better, vehicles are moving very quickly through the roundabout and it is hard to judge whether or not they are going to turn left into Mount Pleasant Road. Amending the kerbline as shown on Appendix B. would provide a small improvement in the sightline for pedestrians but also significantly reduce the speed at which vehicles turn left, and clarify vehicle paths. Observations at peak periods indicate that the narrowing would have little effect on the capacity of this approach to the roundabout as traffic rarely lines up two abreast for any distance. The changes also give the opportunity to make better provision for pedestrians wanting to cross Parkstone Road where there has been one pedestrian accident in the last 3 years. This improvement would cost in the region of £ 10,000 and it would be appropriate to use Developer Funding for this.
Julian McLaughlin
Head of Transportation Services
Appendix A – Recommended Sight Line Proposal, involving carriageway narrowing
Appendix B – Proposed improvement in Parkstone Road
Appendix C – General Summary of Sightline Works
Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact
Steve Dean (01202) 262071
TAG260707T3O
Appendix C
Mount Pleasant Road
General summary of works to be undertaken as part of the Sightline Order:-
Eastern Boundary
Tree and Holly bushes to be removed to approximately 5m back along existing eastern Boundary with Hanover House. To be replaced with wall maximum height 1.05m of type to be agreed with owners. Any other plants within envelope to considered during plant management operation
Consideration will be given, during the plant management operation, to retaining individual trees within the envelope where the foliage/branches are above a minimum height of 2m.
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