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Agenda item

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/17/23), on the request for a pedestrian crossing at Marldon School, attached.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/17/23), on the request for a pedestrian crossing at Marldon School.

 

The report highlighted that at the last meeting of the HATOC, it had supported the principle of a pedestrian crossing outside Marldon School and had asked officers to prepare an evidence base (surveys, costings and monitoring) and submit a project proposal.

 

The report outlined that a pedestrian crossing had previously been installed just to the south of the entrance to Marldon School in 2004, but had been removed after a short period leaving dropped kerbs and tactile paving. It was thought the removal was due to complaints from local residents, relating to the proximity of the crossing to private driveways. There was also conflict with the operation of the bus stops.

 

The criteria for installing a pedestrian crossing was explained in detail and the report concluded the site would not meet this accepted criteria, both in terms of vehicle movements, numbers of pedestrians and collision data.

 

The report highlighted that inappropriate parking and resultant congestion in the vicinity of the Marldon School, particularly during pupil drop-off / pick-up was considered to be the main issue.  The current zig zag markings and signage were legally enforceable but were generally disregarded. Also a previous School Crossing Patrol service was not maintained due to problems with recruitment and a volunteer scheme was not feasible due to a lack of volunteers.

 

The report also outlined what other options might be available, for example a central pedestrian refuge if one could be sited without compromising vehicle movements into adjacent premises, but the road could only accommodate a 1.5m refuge, which was not ideal for pushchairs etc.  Also, bollards, or other physical barriers such as planters, could be placed on the footway to prevent parking outside of the school, but there was a danger of pushing parking problems into nearby residential roads.

 

Members discussed and asked questions on the national criteria for a pedestrian crossing, that other locations had crossings that didn’t appear to meet that national criteria, the results of the traffic data from the 2010 surveys in Marldon, the impact of development on traffic levels, the views of local members that the lack of a crossing was dangerous, the support of the Parish Council and the Police for a crossing and the potential for the community to fund the works from S106 monies or the Community Reinvestment Fund.

 

Officers clarified that a previous crossing had been removed, not only due to resident’s complaints regarding light pollution, but the siting of the crossing being adjacent to accesses made it unsafe as well as causing issues with the bus stop, making it inappropriate in that particular location.

 

It was MOVED by Councillor Pennington, SECONDED by Councillor Rowe, and

 

RESOLVED that the Committee reaffirm its wholehearted support for a pedestrian crossing in the vicinity of Marldon School, as resolved at its meeting of 11 November 2016 (Minute 80), and requests a site visit be arranged as soon as practicable, by the HATOC Committee of the new Council, to look at potential solutions and / or sites for a crossing.

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