BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2006

REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

ON ROAD SAFETY SCHEMES

1.Purpose of the Report and Policy Context

1.1To consider three road safety schemes within the 2005/06 Capital Programme.

1.2The Transportation Strategy aims to improve provision for safe walking and to make improvements at critical junctions and to achieve a reduction in injury accidents on our roads.

  1. Recommendations
  2. It is recommended that the following safety schemes be approved for implementation:

(i)The installation of pedestrian friendly PUFFIN facilities at the junction of Ashmore Avenue and Blandford Road, near the Hamworthy Schools;

(ii)The purchase of 14 No. additional Speed Indicator Devices (SID’s), so that every current rotation site has a permanent sign at each location. It is also proposed that 2 new SID sites be established.

And that the decision to implement the following scheme be re-affirmed :

(iii)The inclusion of a pedestrian crossing facility at the Waterloo Road/ Sopers Lane Traffic Signal junction, near Parkstone Grammar;

for completion within the current financial year.

3.Background

3.1Members received a Report about refurbishment of the Bus Station at the 13 October 2005 meeting of TAG. It was clear at the meeting that, due to Grosvenor Investments Limited only being able to offer a much reduced contribution to the work, a revised Agreement with Wilts and Dorset buses would need to be negotiated. Unfortunately it has not been possible to conclude this and so it is now necessary to reallocate the remaining £195,000 allocation.

3.2The traffic signal junction at Ashmore Avenue/ Blandford Road currently has ‘pelican’ type facilities which do not currently extend the crossing time for pedestrians. Parents of school children attending the nearby Hamworthy Schools have long protested that given the amount of pedestrians using this junction at peak times there is insufficient time for pupils to cross.

3.3The signal junction is currently operating with pelican-type pedestrian crossing facilities without audible bleepers. With this arrangement there is no on-crossing detection which would allow the “green man” times to be extended. It is proposed to refurbish the junction and by installing PUFFIN facilities with audible bleepers; this will increase safety for pedestrians and encourage more children to walk to school. It will also require the replacement of the existing signal controller and it is estimated that this work will cost £40,000.

3.4There has been an outstanding request for a pedestrian facility on Waterloo Road (between Sopers Lane and Darbys Corner) since March 1998. In addition local Councillors have received requests for a crossing point at the traffic signal junction at Waterloo Road/ Sopers Lane from Parkstone Grammar School where there is no pedestrian facility.

3.5It is proposed to refurbish the junction, replace the controller and install staggered pedestrian crossing facilities across Waterloo Road as shown on drawing number HT116/06. The work will also include altering the phasing of the signals to accommodate this pedestrian phase. It is estimated that this work will cost £50,000 including the relocation of an existing lamp column. In order to complete this scheme before the end of the current financial year it has been necessary to begin this work now, using funding vired under delegated authority. Given the benefits associated with this scheme it is anticipated that this decision will be re-affirmed by this Group.

3.6There are currently 15 sites across the Borough of Poole around which three existing SID signs are rotated on a 5-weekly basis. In addition there are two new sites proposed for SID signs. All the sites are identified below.

No. / Sign Location / Sign Type
1. / Lindsay Road / 30 mph roundel
2. / Penn Hill Avenue / Slow Down / 30mph roundel
3. / Lilliput Road / Slow Down / 30 mph roundel
4. / The Avenue / Junction warning sign
5. / Canford Cliffs Road / 30 mph roundel
6. / North Road / Junction warning sign
7. / Constitution Hill Road / 30 mph roundel
8. / Springfield Road / 30 mph roundel
9. / Lulworth Avenue / 30 mph roundel
10. / Sopers Lane / 30 mph roundel
11. / Springdale Road / Actual speed display
12. / Higher Blandford Rd / 30 mph roundel
13. / Wallisdown Road / 30 mph roundel
14. / Alder Road / 30 mph roundel
15. / Winston Avenue / Junction warning sign
16. / Leicester Road / Junction warning sign
17. / Culliford Crescent / 30 mph roundel

3.7The estimated cost of supplying new signs for each ‘vacant’ site (i.e. 14 No. new signs) is £65,000 ( a price which includes a 25% discount due to the size of the proposed Order ) together with further installation costs of £2,000 making a total of £67,000. It proposed that this be funded by means of £52,000 from the Capital Programme and £15,000 from the current Traffic Signals Revenue Budget. The current cost of rotating the three existing signs cost around £4,000 a year. The revenue implication of servicing the additional sites is minimal, being limited to additional power usage.

3.8It has been shown that the effectiveness of these type of signs can reduce over time, as drivers become familiar with them. The new signs will be directly linked to the Traffic Signal UTC system and it will be possible to turn them on and off remotely so this problem can be overcome. In addition, the new signs can be remotely monitored so that all sign activations can be recorded.

3.9It is proposed that any future SID sites will include for greater involvement by Area Committees and that all sites will henceforth be permanent sites, to avoid the need to rotate any signs around in the future. A new method of prioritising requests for SID signs will be reported to a future TAG.

3.10Every endeavour will be made to provide these schemes by the funding means described. However being in the last two months of the financial year there a considerable number of schemes and final costs which still have to be finalised elsewhere in the Capital Programme, and it is not always possible to accurately predict the actual final outcomes. In this respect the precise extent and detail of these schemes may need to be varied slightly in order to fit the available budget. This will be reported in the final outturn later in the year.

JAMES T BRIGHT

Head of Transportation Services

Appendix A - Proposed Drawing No. HT116/06

Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact:

Martin Baker (01202) 262073

Graham Spicer (01202) 262072

1 February 2006

TAG2302063H

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