Question

Could you please give me the reason for the delay of more than 2 years in the design of the Zebra crossing on Bearwood Rd and New Rd Winnersh (which has outside funding to pay for it) and the lowering of the speed limit to 30 MPH on Bearwood Rd required outside Bearwood Primary School?

Question

Could you please give me the reason for the delay of more than three years in the design of the Zebra crossing on Bearwood Rd and New Rd Winnersh (which has outside funding to pay for it) and the lowering of the speed limit to 30mph on Bearwood Rd required outside Bearwood Primary School?

Answer

I cannot speak for the last three years but recently as a result of the change of highways contract some non-urgent projects, such as the requested crossing, have not progressed as quickly as they should have done.  Now the new contract is in place work is progressing in the design of the crossing. This will form part of a wider package of measures across the Borough and we will inform you of the programme of works as soon as possible; and that actually includes some double yellow lines that need to be replaced as well which are in plan now as well.

In respect of the requested reduced speed limit in Bearwood Road, our investigation has found that without traffic calming measures, the police will not enforce a reduced 30 mph speed limit.  Such measures cannot be achieved within current regulations given the alignment and rural character of Bearwood Road, and the number and proximity of private driveways and only partial street lighting. While it is not possible to reduce the speed limit on the road the Council has undertaken measures such as junction warning signs, ‘slow’ road markings and the current 40mph speed limit which has been effective in reducing vehicle speeds.  We have also been working with the Parish Council on speed surveys and we are also doing community speed watch initiatives with the Parish Council.

I do acknowledge residents’ concerns and have asked Officers to make sure they continue to monitor the speeds on Bearwood Road and pursue measures should there be any deterioration in safety.

Supplementary Question

First of all 30mph is required for a zebra crossing.  You must have a speed limit of 30mph or less on the road if you have a zebra crossing in the first place and second of all the police will not enforce a 40mph limit, they will not enforce a 50mph limit, and they will not enforce a 60mph limit.  If you have seen a policeman doing that I would be very surprised.  But my real question is: what is your opinion of a Government trying to reduce the cost of zebra crossings from between £50-70k as it is right now to a cost of around £300 by eliminating Belisha beacons?

Supplementary Answer

I have not come across that Government policy at all so I cannot really comment on it.  The Borough Council has been quite assiduous in putting proper crossings with proper pelican controls in and that is all we can speak for.  I cannot speak for the Government. 

Regarding the speed limits I understand what you are saying about the police not enforcing quite a lot of speed limits.  I drive up and down Bearwood Road a bit actually at school times and I must say that I have never managed to do more than 5mph during the school delivery time because of the amount of traffic and the fact that half the road is usually blocked off by parents dropping their kids off.  So I understand what you are saying and will keep an eye on it and if I can think of anything else more to do to deal with speeding outside school drop-off time I will be happy to do it.