City studies lunchtime road closures to improve safety

ROAD SAFETY

Lunchtime street closures to vehicles, lane closures on multi-lane roads at night, and an etiquette guide for road users, are among proposals in the City of London Corporation’s new road danger reduction and active travel plan. 

The City is proposing to close one busy pedestrian street to vehicles at lunchtime this summer,   pointing out that 30 per cent of injuries to pedestrians and cyclists occur during lunch hours. Closures of other streets could follow in future years if the trial is deemed a success.  

Other initiatives could include: 

• lane closures on multi-lane roads at night, e.g. A1210 Mansell Street  

• active travel priority zones, where the recommended vehicle speed would be 10mph

• a trial to move freight deliveries out of peak hours

• restrictions on certain vehicle types on key walking routes at peak times 

An etiquette guide is being prepared. “Being courteous and polite is a hallmark of British culture, which is renowned worldwide,” says the Corporation. “When arriving in the City of London, we want all our road users to feel like guests and behave courteously to each other.” Drivers and cyclists should be ‘brake ready’ for pedestrians stepping into their path. 

Killed or serious injury (KSI) collisions between pedestrians and cyclists are now the joint most frequent pairing in the City, according to provisional data for 2012-2016.  

Analysis by consultant Steer Davies Gleave shows there were 22 pedestrian/cycle collisions, 22 cyclist/goods vehicle collisions, 22 pedestrian/goods vehicle collisions, 21 cyclist/car collisions, 20 pedestrian/car collisions, 20 pedestrian/motorcyclist collisions, and 18 cycle/taxi collisions. 

A common collision is pedal cyclists filtering through stationary or slow-moving motor traffic and colliding with pedestrians who step off the footway. 

Between 2012 and 2016, the two most frequent contributory factors to road accident KSIs in the City recorded by the police were: a pedestrian failing to look properly (57), and a pedestrian being careless/reckless/in a hurry (27).