Five more shared space junctions for Coventry city centre...

[dutchman]

Five more shared space junctions are set for Coventry city centre in a £2.8million council plan unveiled today.


Shared space junction at Coventry's Little Park Street and New Union Street

Traffic lights are to be removed at five key locations with the aim of improving safety, traffic flow and the city centre’s appearance – sparking a year of disruption from next month.

The plan also includes a new access road to allow more buses into Pool Meadow station. Pedestrian crossings will be
improved near the Whittle Arches.

The controversial bus gate outside Ikea at Queen Victoria Road will also be removed; and improvements to medieval Spon Street will include repaving and street lighting.

Exactly one year since the first controversial shared space was introduced at Gosford Street/Cox Street next to Coventry University, Labour leaders insist police records show a reduction in speeding and accidents.

It is despite widespread public concern, particularly about increased danger for elderly and disabled people.

Today’s “phase two” of the plan - hailed as the biggest city centre road changes since the Ring Road in the 1970s – would see more junctions “based on shared space principles”.

The new junctions will be introduced next to the Council House, Pool Meadow bus station, Spon Street outside St John the Baptist Church, Little Park Street police station; and Corporation Street near the Belgrade Theatre - where two sets of traffic lights would be removed.

Colin Knight, the council’s transport and highways assistant director, said final plans would be individually tailored to suit each of the five junctions following a detailed review.

He said the junctions would be designed on the same “shared space principles” as junctions at Gosford Street/Cox Street and Hale Street/Corporation Street, where an elderly man was killed in collision with a bus in January.

Street signs will be removed to eliminate “clutter”, the junctions could be paved red, kerbs will be dropped, and more than 10 new zebra crossings would be introduced next to the junctions.

Council leaders say they intend to lower the kerbs to 60 millimetres rather than the 40 at existing shared spaces - after concerns from blind people and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Labour councillor Lindsley Harvard, city services cabinet member, said: “There will be no U-turn for shared spaces.

“It’s reduced accidents and improved traffic flow, producing more courtesy between pedestrians and motorists.”

Council leaders insist the junctions on shared space principles have slowed vehicles, and increased road awareness because motorists and pedestrians look out for one another more, rather than focusing on the traffic lights.

The plan is due to be discussed by the council’s Labour cabinet next Tuesday before being voted on by all 54 councillors at a full council meeting on October 23.

Work would then start immediately - beginning with major changes around Pool Meadow bus station - and is expected to take a year, with some disruption from diversions.

To minimise disruption, building work would be co-ordinated with digging work to lay underground pipes for the Heatline project, to heat city centre buildings using heat generated by the Whitley Waste-to-Energy incinerator plant.

About £1.5million of the total bill would come from existing council transport and highways budgets, with the rest coming from the private sector, including contributions from Severn Trent, Sky Dome owners Mansford and Coventry University.

The council has estimated accident statistics have been reduced at the Gosford Street junction in the last year from one every six weeks, to one every six months.

Police records indicate three slight injury accidents nearby, compared with 19 accidents at the junction in the previous five years (one fatal and three serious injury).

The same period from 2006 to September last year saw nine recorded injury accidents (all “slight”) at the Hales Street junction, with the one fatal accident since.

Council leaders say slower speeds at “shared space” junctions resulting in less serious accidents.

Official speed figures show a 5.5mph average speed reduction at the Gosford Street junction to 18.8mph, and an overall reduction of 1.5mph across the city centre within the Ring Road, which has a new 20mph speed limit.

WHERE THE JUNCTIONS ARE GOING:

POOL MEADOW BUS STATION

Traffic lights will be removed at the junction of Fairfax Street and Priory Street, to be replaced with a new junction, likely to be controlled with a zebra crossing nearby.

All Fairfax Street bus stops will be removed to reduce traffic, to be replaced with coach stops to improve visitors’ proximity to key attractions such as Coventry Cathedral and the transport museum.

A new access route into the bus station from Hales Street near the old fire station in Millennium Place will be introduced to reduce buses using Fairfax Street and improve pedestrian crossing areas next to the Whittle Arches.

Bus flows under the Whittle Arches, where road surface sinkage five years ago led to substantial road repairs, are expected to remain the same.

A new bus lane would be included on the ring road nearby, without affecting access for motorists.

COUNCIL HOUSE, EARL STREET AND HIGH STREET

Traffic lights and street signs will be removed and replaced with a new junction, together with a sprucing up of Earl Street towards Gosford Street and Coventry University.

It includes wider pavements and narrowing roads to further reduce traffic speeds and repaving at Speaker’s Corner.

Bollards would also be removed in HIgh Street, where kerbs would be re-introduced to create “a more traditional street”.

CORPORATION STREET/UPPER WELL STREET/WEST ORCHARDS CAR PARK

Two sets of traffic lights will be removed outside the former Coventry Telegraph offices to create one new junction, improving pedestrian links between the Precinct and Belgrade Plaza, and improving traffic flow in and out of the busy West Orchards multi-storey car park.

COUNCIL HOUSE/EARL STREET/HIGH STREET

Traffic lights and street signs will be removed to “almost certainly” be replaced with a red shared space junction, heritage style street lighting for Spon Street in keeping with its listed status and repaving.

Changes will be made to Lidice Place next to the Lower Precinct, designed to improve pedestrian links from the Precinct to Spon Street.

LITTLE PARK STREET/NEW UNION STREET

Traffic lights removed at a busy junction, partly to tackle worsening traffic queues.

[dutchman]

Councillors heckled as more 'shared space' junctions approved

COUNCILLORS were heckled at a meeting after approving five more ‘shared space’ junctions in Coventry yesterday.

Coventry City Council’s ruling cabinet praised existing junctions in Gosford Street and Corporation Street for dramatically reducing the number of accidents.

Officers pointed to data showing collisions have been reduced from one every six weeks at the previous traffic light junctions down to just two in 12 months.

But that was not enough to satisfy one transport campaigner, who berated councillors and refused to leave after latest plans were approved.

The latest junctions, based on “shared space principles”, will be introduced next to the Council House, Pool Meadow bus station, Spon Street outside St John the Baptist Church, Little Park Street police station and Corporation Street near the Belgrade Theatre.

Some have argued they are dangerous after an elderly man was killed at the Hales Street-Corporation Street junction in January.

Jim Smallman, attending the meeting with his guide dog, shouted at councillors “You don’t know what it’s like to be blind”.

The plans aim to improve safety by slowing traffic while improving the city centre’s appearance.

Introducing the scheme, Coun Lindsley Harvard, cabinet member for city services, had said: “These junctions have changed the psychology of drivers and how they are being used by drivers is much safer. The city centre is much more pedestrian friendly.”

Street signs will be removed, junctions will be paved red, kerbs will be dropped, and more than 10 new zebra crossings would be introduced next to the junctions.

The phase two changes were approved by the council’s Labour cabinet but are yet to be approved by full council on October 23.

Council leader John Mutton said: “We all know, and most of us have probably done it, when traffic lights go amber drivers can put their foot down. That doesn’t happen with these crossings.”

The £2.8million council plan includes a new access road for more buses into Pool Meadow, improved pedestrian crossings near the Whittle Arches while the bus gate outside Ikea will be removed.

Medieval Spon Street will be repaved and better street lighting installed.

[dutchman]

Council leader John Mutton said: “We all know, and most of us have probably done it, when traffic lights go amber drivers can put their foot down. That doesn’t happen with these crossings.”

Yes it does. I've witnessed buses and taxis speeding up when they thought someone was about to cross in front of them!

[rebbonk]

What do our councillors know? - These shared spaces are an accident waiting to happen.

I wonder how many councillors have had to actually dodge the traffic on these shared spaces themselves?

[dutchman]

Coventry's shared junctions and 20mph zones 'reducing accidents'



A lower speed limit and junctions where vehicles and pedestrians share right of way have reduced accidents in Coventry, a 12-month study has found.

The city council report, which focuses on the Hales Street and Gosford Street "shared spaces", also said motorists were keeping within 20mph.

Traffic lights were removed, roads narrowed and zebra crossings installed for the four-way junctions.

But opponents have described the spaces as "confusing" and "dangerous".

The report uses statistics that have been collected by the police for serious injuries.

In the five years before the "shared space" was installed at the Gosford Street junction, there had been 26 casualties, and for 2012, up until 18 December, there had been three casualties.

At the Hales Street junction, in the five years before the "shared space" there had been three casualties and there was one in 2012.

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, cabinet member for city services at the council, said: "What we've noticed from the statistics is that collisions have gone down, recorded injury accidents have gone down, average speeds have gone down from 21.5 mph to 18.5 mph."

He said the figures indicated the scheme was "highly successful" so far, but that the council would not be "absolutely sure" until there had been three years of statistics.

[dutchman]

Coventry’s ‘shared space’ road junctions face legal challenge on safety grounds

COVENTRY’S controversial ‘shared space’ road junctions are being legally challenged on safety grounds.

A blind peer – Lord Holmes – is spearheading the dispute, while solicitors have written to Coventry and four other local authorities.

He commissioned a survey of 600 people which suggested two thirds of people rated their experience of shared spaces as poor.

The report also found more than a third of people avoided them, and an under-reporting of accidents.

He claims the junctions could breach the Equaly Act by discriminating against disabled and visually impaired people like him.

Solicitor Chris Fry from Unity Law is representing five visually impaired people suing their coouncils.

The debate about Coventry city centre’s red so-called ‘shared shace’ junctions – which removed traffic lights and pedestrian crossings – resurfaced last month when the new junction 6 of the ring road opened.

There are widespread public concerns the new junctions are more dangerous and cause confusion – especially for the elderly and disabled and others with mobility problems.

Coventry council leaders insist the national and international statistics demonstrate the new junctions and their reduced speed limits are safer – as pedestrians and motorists are forced to be more careful in navigating each other.

Council highways assistant director Colin Knight has said the early evidence on junction 6 was that the vast majority of motorists and pedestrians were using it properly and with good traffic flow – despite a crash in its first week.

He has long insisted the city’s new junctions are not pure “shared space” junctions, which go further than Coventry in removing signage and pavement kerbs.

But Lord Holmes of Richmond wants shared spaces to be put on hold, and claims there is a ‘prima facie’ case that existing ones breach the law.

He said: “An immediate moratorium on all shared space is absolutely essential. I hope that this survey will act as a wake-up call to all involved in these dangerous and costly planning follies.

“Town centres are being turned into dangerous third-world traffic free-for-alls.

“Shared space is not a safe place. Overzealous councils are risking public safety for aesthetics and the result is confusion, chaos, unnecessary cost and catastrophe.”

A Department For Transport spokesperson said: “It is for local authorities to assess the suitability of introducing a shared space scheme on their roads.

“As part of this we expect them to take into account the needs of the whole community, particularly disabled people.”

[rebbonk]

I'm with Lord Holmes, these 'shared' spaces are a nightmare.

Whoever dreamed them up is one sandwich short of a picnic. Vehicles and pedestrians simply do not mix.