Residents plead for road safety

Dec 4 2009 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Mail

RESIDENTS of a Birmingham suburb today demanded urgent road safety improvements after five people were killed in two road death tragedies.

The safety calls were made in Moseley after a pensioner and four boys died in two separate incidents last month.

Teresa Queenan was in collision with a lorry as she crossed the junction of Alcester Road and Salisbury Road on November 9 while four boys died when the car in which they were travelling hit a wall in Salisbury Road on November 14.

Now, the Moseley Forum group has demanded a so-called shared space scheme in the suburb as soon as possible.

Shared space schemes integrate public spaces by removing the traditional segregation of vehicles, pedestrians and other road users.

The aim is to remove barriers, including road signs, bollards and lights, between car and pedestrian to turn the street into a self-regulated area used by all.

It has been pioneered with some success in Holland and is being introduced in various part of the United Kingdom.

Forum member David Isgrove said: “The council has said it wants to carry out a pilot scheme of shared space in an area of the city by next October.

“We feel strongly that this should be in Moseley and should happen as soon as possible. We would make the best scheme because Moseley is compact, not complicated – there is a definite gateway into the area.

“The recent tragic deaths add considerable weight to this argument for improved safety.

“With the shared space scheme, there would be no traffic lights but it would be similar to Brindleyplace, where there are no markings but the driver becomes more aware.”

Street and urban design firm Hamilton-Baillie Associates was commissioned by the Forum to draw up plans using the shared space concept for the centre of Moseley.

Mr Isgrove said: “Research shows that to achieve a 20mph maximum speed in residential areas, there has to be an engineering solution – putting up signs will not work.

“The whole layout needs to be changed and to create a different environment.”

Birmingham City Council’s transportation and street services committee held a scrutiny review of road safety, which included an examination of shared space schemes in the city.

Recommendations from the report included that the Cabinet “fully considers the implications of shared space schemes and set out a clear policy”.