New crossings to make street safer (From Worcester News)
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New crossings to make street safer
7:40pm Wednesday 20th June 2012 in News
A ROAD in Worcester will be a safer place for pedestrians when the installation of two zebra crossings is completed next month.
The end is in sight for a long-running campaign to place two crossings in St Peter’s Drive after Worc-estershire County Council contractors started the work near the road’s junctions with Grasshopper Avenue and Kingfisher Close this week.
It has been a real community project with involvement from St Peter’s Parish Council, Worcester City Council, Wychavon District Council and county councillors John Cairns and Rob Adams to raise £41,000 towards the final cost.
City councillor Roger Knight said: “Ever since I joined the parish council some 13 years ago, I have been trying to get some additional crossings on St Peter’s Drive. Until last year all crossings in Worcester had to be traffic light controlled. This of course made them a very expensive prospect and the accident record of this road was such that it was never a likely option to expect the county council to install them, leaving us with an impossible bill to meet.”
Jon Fraser, county council’s customer and community manager, said: “The county council is pleased that work to install two new pedestrian crossings on St Peters Drive is due to be completed at the end of July.
“With the support of a number of partners we have decided on crossing types that are both cost efficient and, most importantly, help provide a safe way for pedestrians to cross busy sections of road.”
In July last year the county council originally quoted more than £100,000 to complete the work before reducing it to £44,000 in September.
The final cost of the project is not yet available. Plans for the crossing can be viewed at the Worcestershire Hub Customer Service Centre in Farrier Street.
Comments(19)
MulsanneChap
says...
10:27pm Wed 20 Jun 12
The zebra crossings on St. Peter's Drive would have been chosen because they were seen as the most suitable following detailed investigations, not merely because of cost. It seems that Councillor Knight is trying to suggest that he had a hand in influencing the provision of a zebra crossing instead of a pelican crossing, rather than giving credit to the highway engineers who I expect done all the leg work to determine what would have been seen as suitable.
Lew Smoralz
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11:33pm Wed 20 Jun 12
MulsanneChap wrote:Why try to rob Councillor Knight of his bit of glory?
I think Councillor Knight will find that he is incorrect suggesting that all crossings in Worcester had to be traffic light controlled. The type of crossing depends on a number of factors, including vehicles speeds and the number of people crossing at certain points along the road. Has Councillor Knight forgotten about the zebra crossing on Little London that has been there for years. Or the one on Bilford Road perhaps?
The zebra crossings on St. Peter's Drive would have been chosen because they were seen as the most suitable following detailed investigations, not merely because of cost. It seems that Councillor Knight is trying to suggest that he had a hand in influencing the provision of a zebra crossing instead of a pelican crossing, rather than giving credit to the highway engineers who I expect done all the leg work to determine what would have been seen as suitable.
It is obvious that he has campaigned for many years for this improvement and your posting just smells of sour grapes.
Why not try and be a bit gracious at moments like this? It can be character forming!
denon
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7:23am Thu 21 Jun 12
psm
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8:07am Thu 21 Jun 12
Maggie Would
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8:53am Thu 21 Jun 12
moonpig wrote:Coming from the North, it's difficult to even *see* that crossing before one comes off the mini roundabout nearby, particularly if a pedestrian is lurking on the city side.
Let's hope that these aren't as much of a nuisance as the one that has been installed under the railway bridge near the Hive. I cannot believe that anyone thought that was a good place. At rush hour times the pedestrians stream across almost uninterrupted causing the traffic to be backed up in both directions. A pedestrian crossing would have made far more sense.
The Kop
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9:07am Thu 21 Jun 12
Maggie Would wrote:I don't like this crossing as well. But something needs to be there. I think it should be changed to traffic light controlled. I nearly knocked someone down on the crossing the other day, they were on a bike and came from the city, very fast, didn't see them until the last second, I was driving slowly so was able to stop, but a couple of mph more and he would've had it.
moonpig wrote: Let's hope that these aren't as much of a nuisance as the one that has been installed under the railway bridge near the Hive. I cannot believe that anyone thought that was a good place. At rush hour times the pedestrians stream across almost uninterrupted causing the traffic to be backed up in both directions. A pedestrian crossing would have made far more sense.Coming from the North, it's difficult to even *see* that crossing before one comes off the mini roundabout nearby, particularly if a pedestrian is lurking on the city side.
MJI
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10:06am Thu 21 Jun 12
alanquattro
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1:39pm Thu 21 Jun 12
CJH
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3:28pm Thu 21 Jun 12
MulsanneChap
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6:58pm Thu 21 Jun 12
CJH wrote:The whole of the road network is potentially dangerous so do you suggest the Council should implement measures to make the road network 100% safe to prevent perceived/potential accidents, which would cost tens of millions of pounds which clearly isn't available to the authority?
I also think that the zebra crossing by Pitchcroft is an accident waiting to happen. It just seems to appear out of nowhere (rather like the one by the new Asda). We have got out of the habit of reacting to zebra crossings I think. Much better to have lights and controlled traffic signals. However, as usually happens no-one in the Highways Dept will react until someone has been run over, or heaven forbid, killed. Then we'll all be back making comments to say 'we told you something like this would happen, but you didn't listen'. Won't help the victim though will it?
CJH
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7:07pm Thu 21 Jun 12
Saturn V
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10:51pm Thu 21 Jun 12
There's also markings where the path from Foxglove Road meets the Worcester Road, and on the relatively new pedestrian crossing by the Toby Carvery.
As for the crossing by the Hive, well I'm always in favour of zebra crossings as they make it more convenient for people on foot rather than sat in their cars, and that particular crossing at rush hour has a traffic jam waiting for cars not far in either direction so it doesn't really matter if they get held up for a minute at the crossing so long as pedestrians can get over the road quickly.
MulsanneChap
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10:35am Fri 22 Jun 12
CJH wrote:But you did CJH, even if you didn't mean to say it. You said "However, as usually happens no-one in the Highways Dept will react until someone has been run over, or heaven forbid, killed". Now, unless there is a huge pot of cash available to prevent every 'potential' accident, and make roads totally safe, then the Council can only address sites where persisent accidents occur and where improvements can possibly be made to address the problem. Sounds harsh, but it's the only practical solution available at the moment which officers must work to.
You're being argumentative Mulsannechap. That's not what I said at all.
CJH
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10:46am Fri 22 Jun 12
Hawlev
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2:53pm Fri 22 Jun 12
MulsanneChap
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6:52pm Fri 22 Jun 12
CJH wrote:Hardly! Fair enough if you don't like what I say, but if you want your comments to mean something else then try wording it differently as at the moment it is clearly unabiguous and cannot be interpreted any other way. Some people I know have seen your comment in the same way I have!
Now you're being pedantic!
Anway, I shall say no more on the matter. I'm going to grab a beer and watch Germany v France!
CJH
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8:16pm Fri 22 Jun 12
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"Some people I know have seen your comment in the same way I have!" Really? That's always a good fallback isn't it - 'some people I know...'
.
Germany v France? That's odd Germany are playing Greece on my TV :-)
Now, let's just leave it alone shall we? It's such a silly thing for you to get all upset about. I stand by my comments regarding the zebra crossing issue, and blimey, we are allowed different points of view you know. It's a forum; a medium in which the public may debate an issue or express opinion.
wr5resident2
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1:20pm Mon 25 Jun 12
moonpig says...
7:58pm Wed 20 Jun 12