Sunday 29 April 2012

City Centre Zebra Crossings

I realise it's a bit late to post this, but readers might be interested:

Notice of Intent
Proposed Introduction of Pedestrian Crossings

Notice is hereby given that, Coventry City Council ("the Council"), pursuant to its powers under Section 23 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended), intends to:
  1. remove the controlled (Puffin) crossing on Gosford Street approx 192 metres south-west of its junction with Sky Blue Way;
  2. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Earl Street approx 7m east of its junction with High Street;
  3. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Fairfax Street approx 20m west of its junction with Priory Street;
  4. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Pool Meadow Access Road approx 9m north of its junction with Fairfax Street;
  5. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Gosford Street approx 192 metres south-west of its junction with Sky Blue Way to replace the existing pedestrian (Puffin) crossing;
  6. relocate the existing pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Jordan Well located approx 58 metres east of its junction with Much Park Street to a point approx 46 metres west of the centre-line of White Friars Street;
  7. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Gosford Street approx 50 metres east of the centre-line of Cox Street junction; and
  8. install a new pedestrian (Zebra) crossing in Hales Street approx 15 metres east of the centre line of Bishops Street junction.
The Council is undertaking the installation of the pedestrian crossing facilities as part of the works associated with the Coventry 2012 Public Realm and Olympic Legacy Project. The proposed works include narrowing the carriageway and increasing the footway, to improve the environment for pedestrians and other road users, and provide a safe facility for pedestrians to cross the road.

Works to the crossings should be completed by no later than April 2013.

Any person requiring more information in connection with this proposal should contact the Council's Traffic and Network Management Section, during normal office hours on telephone number 024 76834209.

A copy of this Notice, a plan detailing the location of the said crossings and Statement of Reasons may be inspected at Civic Centre 4 (Reception Area), Much Park Street, Coventry, during normal office hours.

Any representations should be forwarded in writing to Mr R Parkes, Commercial Team, Legal Services, Coventry City Council, 4t" Floor Christchurch House, Greyfriars Lane, Coventry, CV1 2GZ, or via email to 'rob.parkes@coventry.gov.uk by no later than 12 thApril 2012.

It's a pity that the council hasn't set up a web-map showing where they plan to make road changes with a weblink to details.  They could then email anybody who had previously indicated interest and invite comments.
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3 comments:

  1. Neil1 May 2012 at 20:32

    Noticed items vii and viii of the Notice of Intent. Aren't those locations adjacent to where the new "shared usage" zones are situated where no one has priority? Ironic that the Council now feel that they need to give pedestrians priority to cross the road.....

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  2. Ceri31 May 2012 at 19:18

    Pedestrians have priority when already crossing a road into which you are turning... (Highway code rule 170). So the new one in Hales Street (viii) is kinda ironic as it will be right by the junction. The one in Gosford St. (vii) less so - it will be about half way between the junction and the ring road flyover.

    Zebra crossings make a lot better sense than pelican crossings if the traffic isn't too heavy or fast as everything keeps moving and no-one has to stop unnecessarily. Although if there is a steady stream of pedestrians it can be a problem as the road traffic never gets a chance - see the Cox St. crossing when a lot of students are crossing between lectures. Could be an issue for the proposed crossing outside the uni library at times.

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  3. George Riches19 June 2012 at 09:51

    Highway Code rule 170 states
    "watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way"

    So motorists should give way to CROSSING pedestrians - but not to pedestrians who are APPROACHING the junction.

    Note the the word "should". The highway code uses the word "must" when there's a law. While breaking a "should" in the highway code will be bad for you in a court case, there's far more wriggle room than is the case with a "must". No doubt in the event of a crash the motorist's lawyers would say that the pedestrian should have stopped before crossing.

    With Zebra crossings there's a clear law which says motorists & cyclists MUST give way to a pedestrian on the crossing. I think case law has established that approaching motorists & cyclists shouldn't expect a pedestrian approaching the crossing to stop.

    Whether queues of motorists will build up when lectures end, will remain to be seen. It certainly used to be a problem at the Zebra crossing just west of the Ellen Terry building. Down at Warwick university it used to be a problem at the end of Library Road (since then the zebra crossing was changed to a plican to give motorists & cyclists a chance!).

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