Agenda item

“We the undersigned petition the Council to put a pedestrian crossing on Scotstown Road to facilitate safe access to Northbound and Southbound bus stops between the Jesmond Road and Parkway section of road.”

People from the Collieston side wishing to travel to town, and people from Denmore Park side returning from town have to find suitable nearby means to safely cross the busy road.  There is an ever increasing ageing population who need the bus to travel around, and some poor sighted people.  The alternatives are unsuitable for the elderly.  To use existing crossings means they have to walk the length of Scotstown Rod to traffic lights at Jesmond Drive and then back up the road.  The other option is to use a traffic light crossing and pelican crossing on the Parkway, which again requires a lengthy walk.

The Committee had before it the following petition which had been submitted by Mrs Denise Watt –

“We the undersigned petition the Council to put a pedestrian crossing on Scotstown Road to facilitate safe access to Northbound and Southbound bus stops between the Jesmond Road and Parkway section of road.”

People from the Collieston side wishing to travel to town, and people from Denmore Park side returning from town have to find suitable nearby means to safely cross the busy road.  There is an ever increasing ageing population who need the bus to travel around, and some poor sighted people.  The alternatives are unsuitable for the elderly.  To use existing crossings means they have to walk the length of Scotstown Road to traffic lights at Jesmond Drive and then back up the road.  The other option is to use a traffic light crossing and pelican crossing on the Parkway, which again requires a lengthy walk.

The Convener explained the process and invited the lead petitioner to present her case to the Committee.  Mrs Watt was in attendance with her husband Allan Watt and also Ray Moles, Trustee of Denmore Park.

Mrs Watt explained that the petition was originally started due to concerns raised by a number of individuals in regards to the safety of residents.  Mr Watt explained that a lot of residents living in Collieston and Denmore Park were senior citizens and they were finding it increasingly difficult to cross the road safely.  Residents had to walk quite a distance at present in order to cross the road with the pedestrian crossing and as a result a lot of people crossed without the crossing, with safety concerns.  Mr Watt also outlined that the island that was in place at present was not really suitable.  Mr Moles also spoke in regards to the crossing and explained that the bus stops that are used at present are difficult for residents to use as it means crossing the busy road, which is very risky.  The petitioners highlighted that any crossing or traffic calming measure would be welcomed by themselves and the residents.

Officers had circulated copies of a survey that had recently been carried out in the area to assess whether a crossing was required.

Members then asked the petitioners a number of questions.  Mr Watt advised that the survey carried out did not reflect the amount of residents that crossed the road and noted that Monday to Friday the amount of people crossing the road increased.  Mrs Watt also advised that she had received a letter of support from an Occupational Therapist as she had walked to the nearest crossing in order to catch a bus and felt it was too long a distance for older people to walk in order to cross the road safely.

Members then asked officers from the Roads department a number of questions.  Vycki Ritson explained that there had been a few queries about installing a crossing on Scotstown Road and as a result, a traffic survey was carried out.  However it was suspended in the afternoon due to low pedestrian numbers.  Members questioned whether another survey could be carried out over a longer period of time and at a different time of the year when people would be more likely to walk.

Vycki explained that the Roads department had a huge backlog of areas where surveys need to be carried out and this survey was scheduled in accordingly.  Vycki highlighted that the peak hour of the survey did show the amount of traffic in the area.  Vycki also intimated that it was 380m between both of the existing crossings.  Councillor Reynolds asked if it would be possible to change the speed limit on the area to 30MPH and Vycki advised that this could be investigated.

Members also asked a number of questions in regards to new housing estates in the area and what the traffic generated from the new houses meant for people crossing safely.  Vycki explained that at the Planning stage, a traffic impact assessment is carried out and any new measures required are agreed and carried out by the developer.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to refer the petition to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee for further consideration; and

(ii)        to request that the CH&I committee look at carrying out a more extensive survey on the area over a longer period of time.