Revised plans provide £83k of road safety measures for Woodford Green residents

Alistair Kleebauer Thursday, November 22, 2012
12:00 PM

Residents of a Woodford Green road will see £83,000 of road safety measures installed after it was deemed a priority for works.

St Barnabas Road, between Broadmead Road and Snakes Lane East, has been the scene of five accidents which resulted in personal injuries since 2009 according to Redbridge Council and was identified as a priority in a local safety programme.

At the area two committee meeting in Sir James Hawkey Hall, Broomhill Road, Woodford Green, last Tuesday, councillors agreed to a series of measures, to be paid for by Transport for London, including flashing vehicle activated “Slow Down” signs and improvements to street lighting.

Cllr Robin Turbefield said: “I have canvassed in that area and you do take your life into your own hands. Cars do come down quite quickly.”

Residents of the road were consulted on the proposals in September.

The majority of respondents agreed to introducing carriageway markings, tactile paving and vehicle activated signs and upgrading existing signage and street lighting.

But only 40 per cent felt “at any time” waiting restrictions should be introduced and 60 per cent said no to the introduction of speed cushions with traffic islands.

A petition from 116 residents opposing both measures was sent to the council and officers revised the plans to remove the speed cushions and adjust the areas on the road with “at any time” restrictions.

Errol Denton, of St Barnabas Road, who presented the petition to councillors at the meeting, welcomed the revisions.

Following the meeting, he said: “The plans are not set in stone yet.

“All in all, we’ve got lighting and a slow down sign, then we’ve got the best result really.

“In regards to other people complaining about accidents on the corner, the road wasn’t well lit there and so extra lighting will help with that.”

A council report said traffic counts on St Barnabas Road were high for such a type of road.

It has an average of 2.78 accidents per kilometre per year, said the report, compared with a Redbridge average of 0.55.