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Road Safety - By Accident or Design? GUIDELINES FOR IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY IN REGENERATION AREAS

6. Sustainable Road Safety Solutions

Sustainable solutions

There is a range of sustainable solutions available that can promote road safety in regeneration areas. This chapter identifies the key interventions and indicates in what situations they are deemed suitable.

In road safety terms a sustainable solution is one where as a result of the road layout:

• Speeds are controlled appropriately without the need for enforcement.
• Vehicle - pedestrian - cycle conflict is minimised.
• All road users are treated with equal importance.
• Accessibility is maintained or enhanced.

There follows a series of design elements which could be incorporated into road design. It must be recognised that there will be essential differences between the design of road safety features on existing roads and new build roads. Good design will be built into new roads whereas there may be a need to superimpose retrospectively features on existing roads which for financial and practical reasons would not be consistent with the layout of a new build.

Traffic calming measures

Research has shown that human error is the largest single contributing factor in road accidents and that vehicle speed is a significant factor in about one third of accidents. Traffic calming is considered as a major element along with speed limits, education and enforcement in influencing human behaviour, vehicle speeds and the number of road accidents.

In Europe many countries, notably Germany and The Netherlands, have invested heavily in urban traffic calming schemes over the last two decades and Britain has been able to gain valuable knowledge from these continental projects. The main objectives of traffic calming include:

• improvement of street safety;
• reduce road accidents;
• discourage the use of unsuitable routes by heavy vehicles and through traffic;
• improvement of the street environment;
• improvement of conditions for vulnerable road users;
• reduce noise, disturbance and anxiety; and
• reduce severance experienced by communities.

Some of the most common traffic calming measures are listed below:

Bar Markings

These consist of a series of parallel road markings that are laid perpendicular to the flow of traffic and are used to draw a driver's attention to an approaching junction or roundabout.

Build Outs

A narrowing of the carriageway, constructed on one side of the road as an extension to the footpath or verge. This feature can be used to slow the speed of vehicles and help improve the conditions for pedestrians by reducing the width of carriageway they must cross.

Bus Boarder

A bus boarder is a section of footpath that is built out beyond parked cars to allow buses to fully align with the kerb, this allows passengers to board and disembark more safely.

Bus Gate

A section of road where only buses, cyclists and sometimes taxis can pass. They effectively act as a road closure for general traffic, whilst still allowing sustainable modes to pass. Bus gates can be susceptible to non-compliance by general traffic and may need periodic policing or the introduction of automatic barriers such as rising bollards that are automatically triggered by buses.

Chicanes

Chicanes are effective in slowing vehicles down and are formed by building out the footpath on both sides of the carriageway. This type of feature is useful on roads where buses operate and road humps are considered undesirable.

Entry/Junction Treatment

This consists of a change of surface, a ramp or a narrowing at a junction or change of road characteristic. This feature can help emphasise to a driver that they are entering an area where they should watch their speed. Entry treatments can also be used to improve conditions for pedestrians by reducing their crossing distance and by creating a level crossing, which significantly improves conditions for those in wheel chairs and parents with prams.

Gateways

A combination of natural or man-made features at the entry to or exit from areas where motorists' perceptions change. These measures are popular on the approaches to villages.

Islands

These can be built with or without facilities for pedestrians to improve lane discipline, restrict overtaking or lower vehicle speeds by reducing the carriageway width. They can improve conditions for pedestrians by splitting the total road crossing distance into two.

Mini-Roundabouts

This type of measure can be used at junctions on long straight roads to break up the road into shorter sections.

Road Narrowing

A road can be narrowed using pinch points, which are introduced either on one side of a road or on both sides. Road narrowing is often accompanied with priority signs that make traffic travelling in one direction give way to the traffic travelling in the opposing direction. The priority signs are alternated along the length of a road in order to reduce the speed of traffic travelling in both directions.

One-Way Streets

One way street can be introduced to discourage 'rat running'. However, the introduction of this measure can encourage vehicles to travel at higher speeds along the one way street because they have no opposing traffic and a greater road width to travel on.

Road Closures

Road closures are an effective measure for eliminating 'rat running'. This type of feature is obviously not suitable on roads where buses operate; in this situation the introduction of a bus gate should be considered.

Road Humps

Road humps are used to reduce speed by vertically deflecting the vehicle, this type of feature is not appropriate for bus routes.

Road Markings

Road markings can be used to narrow carriageways and improve lane discipline.

Rumble Devices

Part of the carriageway is made of materials which create a noise or vibration when a vehicle's tyres pass over them.

Shared-Use Roads

Short lengths of road, mostly in new housing developments, where all road users share the same road space. Shared-use roads are a common feature of home zones.

Speed Cushions

A form of road hump, occupying only part of the carriageway. These allow wide axle vehicles, such as buses to pass over without being deflected.

Surface-Treatments

This type of measure can take the form of a change in colour or texture on the carriageway. The colour treatment reinforces lane discipline and the texture treatment increases the carriageway's skid resistance.

New road and path layouts

The complete re-development of an area presents an opportunity to completely reconsider how all movement should be managed. Facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, goods vehicles and general traffic all have to be carefully considered.

It is important that the provision for movement is not considered in isolation, but as an integral part of the redevelopment plans. A carefully designed new road layout and path will enhance the community's safety. Local authorities will provide guidance on how this should be best achieved.

The features that should be considered during the design process should place an emphasis on encouraging sustainable journeys and removing perceived barriers to movement within the community. Some of the measures that are commonly introduced in new developments to promote road safety are listed opposite:

• New or improved lighting.
• Segregated cycle/footpaths.
• Cul-de-sacs.
• Shared use roads.
• Entry treatments.
• Junction treatments.
• Off-street parking.

Home zones

It may be appropriate to consider introducing the concept of Home Zones in some regeneration areas. The Scottish Executive has defined Home Zones as the following:

A Home Zone is a residential area that seeks to meet the needs of all road users equally, and where all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists as well as motorised traffic, share the road space. Streets in the Home Zone are designed to remove barriers to local people using the space rather than it being dominated by the needs of passing local traffic ¹¹.

The concept of Home Zones may be used to achieve a variety of objectives relating to policies including the improvement of road safety. The creation of a Home Zone can revitalise a community, providing the space and the environment for social interaction and a safe place for children to play.

In an existing street the demand for a Home Zone must come from the local community, and the design of the changes to the street should be developed in partnership with them ¹². The success of a Home Zone is based on a sense of community ownership rather than it being imposed by outside agencies onto a community who may be misinformed about its purpose. It should not be developed merely on the basis of improving road safety but rather as a holistic way of improving all aspects of the community environment.

In Scotland the powers to introduce Home Zones are contained in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Local authorities may designate any road for which they are traffic authority as a Home Zone for which they intend to implement measures that will: Improve safety; Improve or preserve the environment; Improve the facilities on, or in the vicinity of, the road, in such a way as to bring benefits to any persons using the road; and to implement their transport policies.

Safer Routes to School

Safer Routes to School is a national initiative developed by Sustrans to enable schools to undertake projects that encourage and enable children to walk or cycle to school using a package of practical and educational measures. The implementation of a Safer Routes to School project enables a variety of objectives to be met including the improvement of road safety and reduction of accidents; the improvement of child health and development; and the reduction of traffic congestion and pollution.

Safer Routes to School projects vary from school to school to account for differing circumstances. They necessitate the involvement of the school community, local residents, the local authority, health and education workers and the police. A successful Safer Routes to School project is child-centred and of benefit to the whole community by helping to create safer and more healthy environments.

The undertaking of a Safer Routes to School project requires an assessment of the current travel behaviour of pupils and the road safety issues they come up against. The package of measures implemented depend on the outcome of this assessment. Physical measures may include:

• Highway improvements to develop a network of safe routes:
  • Introduce safe road crossings.
  • Introduce 20 mph zones around schools.
  • Redesign road space to provide for pedestrians and cyclists.
• School and educational initiatives:
  • Walking buses.
  • Reflective bibs.
  • Incentives for walking or cycling to school.
  • Carshare database.
  • Staggered leaving and arriving times.
• Improved public transport provision:
  • Special offers for school pupils.
  • Improved timetabling and routes.

With the implementation of measures such as those listed above, the whole community can benefit from immediate improvement in safety and the long-term attitudinal change toward more sustainable travel instilled in children through the educational initiatives undertaken.

Speed limits

The introduction of advisory speed limits in residential areas in Scotland from 30mph to 20mph has been shown to both reduce the number of casualties and the proportion of serious or fatal accidents ¹³. However where this advisory 20mph speed limit has been implemented at a number of sites around Scotland it has not achieved an average speed limit of 20mph or less. Mandatory 20mph speed limits are more effective since they allow Police enforcement. However difficulties may be experienced in providing the necessary policing of such schemes, which may be alleviated through an inter-agency approach to schemes with the police as one of the partner agencies.

Part-time mandatory 20mph speed limits on roads immediately adjacent to schools are an effective means of reducing traffic speeds at the start and end of the school day. These part-time speed limits are indicated by flashing amber lights and signage indicating the mandatory speed limit of 20mph when the lights are flashing.

20 mph advisory speed limits are self-enforcing if they are used in conjunction with traffic calming measures.

Road safety education initiatives

Road safety officers are responsible for encouraging children, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers to participate in training and education programmes that influence their behaviour in a positive way towards road safety. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) provides guidance on what training should be provided and how it should be undertaken.

In Scotland the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's responsibilities include co-ordinating road safety education. They have produced a strategy for road safety education in Scotland, which aims to ensure that all children and young people receive an appropriate level of road safety education.

The Scottish Road Safety Campaign's strategy fully recognises the importance of road safety education for children. Developing children's behaviour and attitudes towards the dangers traffic can present from an early age will ensure that they are better equipped to deal with these dangers through their childhood and into adulthood.

The Scottish Road Safety Campaign and road safety officers work in partnership with schools to achieve the aims of the national strategy.

The Children's Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) has the key objective to help reduce the number of children injured on Scottish roads. The club is free to join for all three years olds in Scotland and provides parents with six books, which helps them teach their pre-school children the principles of good road safety.

It is widely recognised that in school education is the most effective way to promote road safety to school aged children. Streetsence was launched in September 2003 to provide road safety education for primary school children in Scotland. The Streetwise Guys web site provides road safety education for children aged eight to fourteen years of age. A number of methods are used to deliver road safety education to children at secondary schools, these include computer-based resources and the use of theatre productions.

Off-street parking

Regeneration projects present an opportunity to re-consider how best to manage car parking and reduce the hazards created by on-street parking. The Craigmillar example successfully addressed the issues caused by on-street parking by introducing off-street parking for tenants:

This approach to the management of parking may not be met with unanimous approval from the planning profession who may argue that the proliferation of parking in front of housing creates clutter. It also does not bode well with the principles of sustainability contained in the policies of local authorities, as the provision of off-street parking may be considered as encouraging car use. Clearly it is down to each individual community safety project to determine the suitability of such an approach. Given the inherently low car ownership in regeneration areas due to the low average income of residents (Figure 6.1) any effect on car ownership is likely to be negligible.

Figure 6.1 - Number of cars available for private use by members of the household by annual net household income (Household Transport in 2002: some Scottish Household Survey results, Scottish Executive, 2004)

It may also be appropriate to consider the provision of off-street parking for users of community services and educational establishments. Whilst car use for the school-run is to be discouraged, the road safety hazard it presents cannot be ignored.

Enhance street lighting

Although street lighting might satisfy the appropriate design standards, it might still not provide the desired level of illumination in certain situations. Consideration should be given to enhancing street lighting when:

• Road accident statistics identify clusters of night time accidents;
• Specific land uses create a high level of night time pedestrian demand, e.g. theatres, cinemas, community halls, and night clubs; and
• A barrier to pedestrian or cyclist movement resulting from a perceived fear of danger is identified by the community.

Road safety audits

Identifying appropriate measures can be assisted by carrying out a road safety audit. A road safety audit evaluates proposed road designs to identify potential safety hazards which may affect any type of road user and suggests measures to eliminate or mitigate such hazards. The Scottish Executive provides guidance on how to carry out a road safety audit ¹⁴.

In regeneration areas where the road layout is being reconsidered it is imperative that the road safety audit is included in the design process from the outset. Road safety issues should be considered by everyone involved in the project and this may include transportation planners, road designers, land use planners, architects, housing associations, the SIP and community organisations. It is important that road safety is considered at the earliest opportunity to be included in the major decisions that are normally taken in the initial stages of project design, and before designs become fixed by political and financial decision.

Table 6.1 summarises the road safety problems described in Chapter 5 and relates these to the suitable solutions described in detail in this chapter.

Table 6.1 - Relating road safety issues to sustainable solutions

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