Agenda item

Members: Please note that this report relates to item 3 of the Motions List (Motion by Councillor Graham – “That the Committee considers the conversion of the existing zebra crossing facility on Provost Fraser Drive to a Puffin crossing.  The funding for the conversion to come from the 2010/11 Non-Housing Road Safety and Traffic Calming budget or some other future budget.”)

With reference to article 7 of the minute of the meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 7 September, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided information on the terms of the following motion which had been submitted by Councillor Graham:-

“That the Committee considers the conversion of the existing zebra crossing facility on Provost Fraser Drive to a puffin crossing.  The funding for the conversion to come from the 2010/2011 Non-Housing Road Safety and Traffic Calming budget or some other future budget.”

The report advised that since the current zebra crossing had been installed, this topic had been raised on a number of occasions, particularly by the residents of the nearby sheltered housing complex asking for the crossing to be upgraded following these enquiries surveys had been undertaken all of which had indicated that the existing crossing facility was adequate and that it did not qualify for upgrading to a signalised puffin crossing.   As the surveys had been carried some time ago, a further survey was carried out to ascertain the current levels of pedestrian and vehicular movements in the vicinity of the zebra crossing on Provost Fraser Drive.  

In terms of the Council’s procedure and criteria for pedestrian crossings, the report advised that the Council used methods outlined by the Department for Transport.   The method not only measured both traffic and pedestrian flow, but also other factors such as carriageway width, accident history, and other local facilities such as schools, shops, etc.   Various numerical factors were obtained using this method and ultimately a final value combining these factors was used to ascertain whether or not there was justification for the installation of a facility.   The procedure and policies applied have been in use for some time and for undertaking in accordance with the policies and procedures approved at a national level as well as ratified by Committee.   A conflict value of 1.0 x 10⁸  or above would qualify for the provision of a controlled crossing.   A value of less than 0.7 x 10⁸  would not qualify for any type of crossing facility but the location in question would continue to be monitored.

Specifically in terms of the location at Provost Fraser Drive, the report advised of the survey findings wherein figures for the number of pedestrians crossing as well as traffic flow at the various peak time periods were provided. It was advised that the figures from the survey which was undertaken on 14 September 2010 had resulted in a final PV²  value of 0.20 x 10⁸ , well below the desired criteria of 1.0 x 10⁸  for a signalised puffin crossing.  

As agreed at the beginning of the meeting (see Article 2 above), the Committee then heard from Mrs Trudi Allan, President of the Quarryhill Court, who advised that residents of Quarryhill had been asking for a puffin crossing at the location since 1989; provided an overview of the history of near incidents at the location and emphasised the importance for safety reasons for having a puffin crossing.

Councillor Graham, was in attendance and spoke to his motion, explaining the rationale behind his request and further emphasised the points raised by Mrs Allan. In particular Councillor Graham highlighted the reasons why the existing zebra crossing was not sufficient and the safety issues which arose from it.

The report recommended:-

that no further action was required in relation to the conversion of the existing zebra to a puffin crossing on Provost Fraser Drive and that otherwise the content of the report be noted.

Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Allan, moved:-

            that the existing crossing facility on Provost Fraser Drive be converted to a puffin crossing, with the funding for the conversion to come from the 2011/2012 Non-Housing Road Safety and Traffic Calming budget.

As an amendment, the Convener, seconded by the Vice-Convener, moved:-

that consideration of the conversion of the existing zebra crossing on Provost Fraser Drive to a puffin crossing be referred to the budget process for 2011/2012.

On a division, there voted:-  for the motion (6) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Boulton, Crockett, Milne and Graham;  for the amendment (10) – the Convener;  the Vice-Convener;  and Councillors Clark, Corall, Cormie, Fletcher, Jaffrey, Penny, Robertson and John West.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.