A LOCAL resident is again appealing to the town council to rethink its plans to redevelop the Market Place – this time questioning the safety of a proposed new zebra crossing.
Douglas Insall, who is a retired supervising design and layout engineer, says that the planned crossing, which will link Boyle Cross with the pavement outside the Coventry Building Society, is an accident waiting to happen.
According to Douglas, the placement of the new crossing will offer pedestrians a restricted view of oncoming traffic, which could be in breach of regulations set by the Department of Transport.
The new crossing is part of the council’s ‘phase 2’ of its Market Place improvement project, which received planning permission from Mendip District Council in June last year. Douglas has previously questioned the town council’s plans to remove the safety railings on the junction of Cork Street and Market Place, replacing them with bollards.
Douglas told Frome Times, “Following the revelation of two lorries out-of-control down Bath Street crashing into the George Hotel in 1918 and 1968, what would be the result if it happened for a third time?
“The first vulnerable casualties would be the pedestrians using the proposed new uncontrolled zebra crossing linking the Boyle Cross area to the Coventry Building Society. If installed, it would encourage more to cross at this location, especially the slow moving elderly, those with sight problems or disabled individuals using walking aids etc. Even lightning can strike twice, so why not another out-of-control vehicle down Bath Street in spite of the new 20 mph limit?
“We must remember that many more large vehicles now use the hill that is Bath Street, that visit the service areas of most of the shops in the Westway Shopping Centre, including the Radstock Co-operative Society Supermarket with Post Office services in-house.
“The big question is should we have any type of crossing in this location? Even taxi drivers fear being trapped between three crossings after leaving their rank and exiting Cork Street. Are we creating a triangle to rival Bermuda – but for different reasons?
“Let’s consider vehicles coming from the opposite direction and heading towards Bath Street. After passing the Boyle Cross, the proposed new elevated zebra crossing would be at the far end of a left-hand bend, with line of sight problems as follows:
“The activity of shoppers in the market stalls area including those sitting on the new wall would certainly obscure some vision of pedestrians about to use that zebra crossing.
“In addition, another distraction for drivers would be vehicles exiting Cork Street and heading up Bath Street.
“Although Belisha beacons will be installed, distractions may mask their effectiveness during various festivals including flapping decorations and twinkling Christmas lights.
“The bend in question is the normal release point of frustrations for drivers to accelerate to 20 mph.
“The recorded traffic flow by the Frome Town Council (FTC) of 1,200 vehicles per hour (1,500 by 2028) during daylight is way off the scale recommended by the Department of Transport for installation of a zebra crossing, i.e. 500 maximum vehicles per hour two-way without a central refuge.
“For pedestrians standing behind the new wall wanting to cross, looking ‘right’ would necessitate looking back over their right shoulders towards the Boyle Cross before checking ‘left’ again – and repeating to check if vehicles are too close to proceed. This would be very confusing for children, people with sight problems or those with learning difficulties or other disabilities. The time factor involved would require additional patience before crossing and that is something many pedestrians do not have!
“According to the Department for Transport, ‘the desirable minimum visibility,’ requirement either side of any crossing is 50 metres. However, I doubt whether it’s acceptable for that dimension to be measured around a bend disappearing behind a pedestrian.
“This surely strengthens the question: ‘Should any crossing be located here?’ A question I first posed to the FTC on 8 January 2018, but with no response. Although the situations highlighted above may not seem individually concerning, but the sum of all the parts should raise doubts regarding the placement of a zebra crossing. Debatable, absolutely, but if a disaster could happen – it probably will!
“Unfortunately, the inclusion of the zebra crossing was never presented to the public for comment, but was decided after an isolated discussion.”
Frome Town Council was approached for comment.
