South Gloucestershire Council is inviting residents to have their say on a number of proposed casualty reduction measures on Bradley Stoke Way, in the vicinity of the Willow Brook Centre.
The consultation comes after two school-age children were seriously injured in separate traffic accidents along this stretch of road earlier this year.
A public petition for improved safety measures on the road, started after the second incident (in September), was signed by more than 3,900 people and resulted in the issue being debated at a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council last week.
A meeting in October attended by the Council’s transport chief, Council officers, local Councillors, local police and headteachers of local schools outlined a number of proposed safety measures for the road and these have now been formalised in the plans that are the focus of the current consultation.
The main component of the proposed scheme is the provision of a new signal-controlled (toucan) pedestrian crossing on Bradley Stoke Way, close to the pedestrian access point from Wheatfield Drive. This new crossing will replace the two existing uncontrolled crossing points where the recent accidents occurred.
The proposals also include an extension of the existing 30mph speed limit northwards by 260m, so that it includes the new crossing. It is also proposed that the 30mph limit be extended south of the Savages Wood Roundabout to include the existing toucan crossing between Snowberry Close and Champs Sur Marne.
The petitoners’ call for the northbound carriageway to be reduced to a single lane is now being met “for most vehicles” through the introduction of a bus lane (which would have been needed anyway following last week’s Government go-ahead for the North Fringe to Hengrove bus rapid transit scheme).
Drawings published on the consultation webpage also show additional features that include yellow bar markings on the road surface at the approach to the start of the 30mph zone and a permanent vehicle-activated speed reminder sign in the central reservation opposite the Willow Brook Centre.
The petitioners’ call for the new crossing to incorporate a “speed table” has not been satisfied, with the Council previously saying this wouldn’t be possible because the road is used by buses and emergency vehicles.
The consultation runs until Sunday 8th January 2012.
I was at the SGC meeting when cllr Brian Allinson explained the proposals, and felt he struck the right balance. The most important part is preventing people making dangerous overtaking manouvres at the dual-lane approach to the crossing, which the bus lane should do. Making the whole of BSW 30mph or adding sleeping policemen was overkill in my opinion.