Coordinates of area which is mainly where the attempts are made are 51.92812° N, 1.72533° W if you wish to understand fully the issue at hand.
Feasibility
The feasibility of putting a pedestrian crossing on this part of
the road would be easy for the council to implement. This road is
straight and would have full visibility from both sides of the
crossing from a road user and pedestrians’ point of view from
a safety aspect. The businesses have a path along their side of the
road so the ability to put a dropped curb in either side
wouldn’t be of issue. There are multiple locations where this
would serve as a good location both practically for residents and
for road users. I anticipate that Highways would need to make a
formal assessment of the practicalities and ask that GCC consider
instructing them to do so.
I would recommend a puffin crossing. Puffin crossings are
fundamentally the same as Pelican crossings, except they use
‘intelligent’ signals. Pelican crossings are controlled
by traffic lights. Pedestrians press a button to request a crossing
and wait for the green person to indicate that they can cross. A
Pelican crossing cycle works according to set timings; Puffin
crossings use sensors to determine when the crossing is clear.
Thus, if one person crosses quickly, traffic will only be
stationary briefly. If lots of pedestrians cross slowly, traffic
will be stationary longer. This would then not cause traffic build
up but ensure that the members of the public could cross with
ease.
A refuse island might be a compromise however there still poses the
risk between getting to it and I believe the road would need
widening to accommodate, however I am happy to work out if this
would be a compromise solution.
Additional traffic calming:
The road has a speed limit of 30 MPH in place, this unfortunately
isn’t adhered to when the road is in quieter hours. Also, due
to the sheer volume of traffic that uses this road, the drivers
seem to be inclined to ignore people waiting and attempting to
cross. Upon speaking with regular crossers, they have stated they
can wait up to 20 mins each side at peak times as car users are in
a rush and if the traffic is flowing, they are not stopping. There
is the exception of a few drivers who will allow, but sometimes you
can get to the middle and get stuck until the other side let you
across. The addition of the crossing would also act as an
additional traffic calming measure and increase the general safety
of the area. On few occasions, there have been temporary speed
cameras vehicles parked, and the traffic has been of a calmer rate
which suggests that the average speed is of a level that
isn’t legal.
Community
Stow on the wold has a population of 1905 at the end of 2021. The
percentage of this being of currant retirement age is 39% as of end
of 2021. We are seeing year after year; developments of retirement
homes increase and as a result, these people needing a safe walkway
has increased. This is also a safety risk for children and disabled
members, who regularly cross also and not just the elderly. 12% of
the population being children or disabled at the end of 2021. These
figures are based on age and not abilities, but this crossing would
benefit 100% of people who wish to make the walk across.
Tourist’s won’t be captured either in the figures.
Summary
I would love to have this implemented in order to benefit the
community and for them to be able to access businesses in a safe
manner. This scope of work is out of the businesses control. I
welcome the town of stow on the wold and the wider communities to
join and sign in order to provide safe access to all members
wishing to cross this busy road. As a member of one of the
businesses, we would be of ability to raise funds for this project
should this be a barrier for a decision.
This ePetition runs from 20/07/2023 to 30/09/2023.
3 people have signed this ePetition.