Proposals for a number of road safety improvement schemes around Bradley Stoke achieved limited success when they were discussed at a recent meeting of South Gloucestershire Council’s Southern Brooks Area Forum.
Seven Bradley Stoke schemes were competing for a share of the £50k pot available, along with other proposals from Filton, Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Winterbourne.
In the end, just two of the Bradley Stoke schemes were awarded funding – and only for “investigation” work rather than full implementation:
- Noise and speed reduction measures in Woodlands Lane, near Woodlands Park
- Introduction of a pedestrian crossing on Brook Way near the junction of Elm Close
Each of the above projects was awarded £5k, with the Brook Way proposal being extended to also investigate the possibility of providing a pedestrian crossing facility near the Concord Medical Centre in Braydon Avenue.
Of the eight schemes awarded funding by the area forum, six were given £5k for “investigation” work. The only two projects to receive funding for implementation were in Patchway, where the left turn from the A38 Gloucester Road into Shellmor Road is to be prohibited and a bus stop on the A38 northbound, near the Callicroft Road junction, relocated.
Ten ‘safer routes to school’ schemes that had been put forward (including ones near Bowsland Green Primary School and St Mary’s Primary School in Bradley Stoke) failed to win funding but the forum agreed to recommend them to the Executive Member for Transport for further consideration.
Photo: South Gloucestershire Council’s transport chief, Cllr Brian Allinson, with Cllr Ben Walker at the pedestrian crossing on Pear Tree Road, where a ‘raised table’ will be soon be installed, thanks to funding awarded at a previous meeting the Southern Brooks Area Forum.
Disappointing result. With 5 Conservative members from Bradley Stoke you would have thought that we would have a better result. Have to say that during my time on the council “safer routes to school” always received full funding. Just can’t get the calibre of cllrs these days!!
Or maybe it’s now understood that £20k spent on a raised table that actually does nothing to improve safety is not actually a good return on the investment…..
But maybe, just maybe a childs life is worth £20K, but hey ho, it’s slows the traffic down!!
anon-e-mouse, if you’re a parent I hope you value your kids life a bit higher.
Let’s put in more speed ramps, sorry “cushions” , more raised tables, more road obstructions, let’s ban cars altogether eh Jon? That would be safer altogether.
It’s obvious you don’t work in a risk management world. Why not spend £200k, or maybe £2m. How much do you value a life?
Or maybe we teach our children to cross a road properly and get the police to actually apply the laws of the land and maybe our elected officials and their civil servant counterparts should do the jobs they are paid to do and design the layout of housing estates and roads properly. Now there’s a novel thought…….