Market House cobbles: advisor offers Council low cost ideas

On 8 October 2022 TACC organised a protest to call upon Somerset West & Taunton Council (SWT) to make the road surface on the Market House roundabout safer. TACC thanks all who supported this.

Protest against the dangerous road surface of the Market House roundabout.The road surface of the Market House roundabout made of cobbles.

People have been hurt

The roundabout hasn’t been properly maintained since it was built in 1996. It is unfair that people are being hurt due to the Councils’ breach of duty of care at the junction. We know that crashes happen on this roundabout. Fiona Lewis referred to her injury in the Gazette (August 2022): “I had a nasty accident there on my way to work a few years ago – on a wet day, when a bus driver, having looked to check he was safe to pull out, decided an upcoming cyclist was something to ignore. As soon as I tried to swerve to get out of his way I was off – thrown in the air and landed on my helmeted head. I was wearing hi-vis, I was using sensible tyres. I was concussed for two days, which was a lucky escape.”

Independent advice

TACC has been contacted by Euan Clayton who is an independent safety consultant. He has been giving us advice on this issue. Given that SWT worry that their original scheme to improve the surface might need to be ‘ripped out’ in a couple of years, he has suggested a low cost interim scheme. Clayton has suggested a primer and powder which is applied to the required area, and this fills in all of the actual grooves, after which a high friction surface can be applied.
This would cost between £10,000 and £20,000 compared with the original budget of £1.4 million to improve the surface.

Duty of Care

In case the Council is sued for a breach of duty of care, compensating one slight injury could cost SWT money, valued at approximately £25,000 in 2020. The value of a serious crash with a lasting injury is estimated at £217,000. These amounts are substantially higher than the spending on improving the road surface.

We would very much welcome a face-to-face discussion with Councillor Mike Rigby to find a low cost interim solution. Possibly deferring the proposed replacement Goodlands Gardens crossing, given that a crossing already exists here.

Call to make Market House cobbles safer

Many people have told us that they find the Market House junction to be scary, and some people avoid the area with their bikes. This is due to a slippery and very uneven surface making it difficult to properly steer a cycle and hand signal. This is especially so when vehicles are in conflict with cyclists’ movements. We know that people have sustained injuries, either due to other vehicles hitting them or by slipping and sustaining a broken limb. By ignoring this danger for vulnerable road users for so many years, Somerset West & Taunton Council and Somerset County Council are both in breach of their ‘duty of care’.

On behalf on many cyclists, TACC is asking the local authorities to re-instate the funded scheme to improve safety for two-wheelers at this junction. This could be with an outer smooth surface in a colour matching the existing cobbles, retaining the central cobbles. Please support our petition. (We also have paper copies.)

The Market House roundabout with cobbles

Why is this important?

Yet it is the heart of town routes that people wish to use. It is one of the 15 hotspots from our 2016 user survey. It is part of the SWT proposed Vivary Park-Station route. Without greater safety here, this route will not be effective.
Here are just a few of over 60 comments  that we have received or seen:

‘Death trap as it’s so wobbly. Never risked going round in the rain.’

‘The cobbles are so bumpy and dangerously slippery in wet weather and makes it impossible to signal to other motorists where you are exiting. Both hands need to be on the handlebars to be able to maintain control of the bike.’

‘The cobbles and ridges between mean that the bike wheel gets stuck in the ruts and therefore difficult to steer. Need to hold very tight to handle-bars – therefore impossible to make signals to other road users. Also very prone to wobbling across the traffic because to the ruts.’

‘The cobbles are dangerous as I feel that my tyres will slip, especially in wet weather. Also, the jolting on my bike is uncomfortable and painful. I try to avoid cycling on this part whenever possible.’

‘Vibration through seat handle bars for no suspension bike. Also bad for walkers on carnival night.’

‘You have my full support on this issue-I was nearly thrown off on the cobbles adjacent to the bus lay-by last Thursday-light rain had made them quite slippery’

‘MotorBike tires slide during wet weather.’

View the complete list of comments » (as PDF) made in several media.

Somerset West & Taunton Council is pulling the scheme

We supported SWT’s High St Fund bid which included funding to provide a safer surface for cycling at the junction. We’ve been in discussion with SWT on how this would be designed, for several of years. Now SWT say they are pulling this project.

This is a major let down. They are pulling the scheme because bus priority measures are being considered for East Reach and this might affect the Market Street roundabout (although buses currently use the junction in all directions without issues).

Our feeling is that they have the funding and improvements have been planned for several years. SWT should keep to this. The funding is there to do it. SWT and SCC are in breach of a clear ‘duty of care’ to address safety problems that affect so many people and should address this.

Cycle network petition debated in SWT Council

Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) full council debated our petition to new cycling routes and parking on 5 July. The petition has nearly 2000 signatures. Over a dozen councillor’s spoke, and there was strong support. There were calls to extend our tube network map to West Somerset.

We have also been asked to ‘represent’ the petition to Somerset County Council (SCC). Although we presented it in 2019, the response was fairly lukewarm. This time a more positive response is expected. The presentation will be at a special SCC full council meeting to discuss the formation of Town Council for Taunton, probably in September.

Map of Turning the Cycle Network Blue

We have summarised the SWT Full Council meeting debate and comments from Councillors here:

  1. Mike Rigby – TACC asked for 4 areas of work. Working three of these.  Schools is=SCC . Need change in SCC attitude, working on it. A number of cycle routes we are working on and we should see change in the direction of travel.
  2. Roger Habgood – This is cross council. The receipt of the petition is not just a procedural issue and all in the room are behind it.
  3. Dave Maunsell – Strongly supports. Great potential to increase cycling. Better when paths are separate. Would like connections from Withy to Taunton involving the NCN 3 through Bishops Hull. Silk Mills Park and Ride through Long Run Meadow needs improvement. This is long overdue.
  4. Marcus Bath – Lots of petitions? TACC should come to the Wellington Town Council and liaise with the Town Clerk. (NB: we were confused by this as we we have been doing this for some time.)
  5. Brenda Weston – Praises the work of TACC which is a successful organisation. Thanks TACC.
  6. Loretta Wellton- Supports. Good if we could have groups in West Somerset. Desperately need areas were cycling is safe.
  7. Janet Lloyd – Clarified that Mike co-ordinates the Wellington to Taunton project group meetings. (TACC note: Wellington Town Council is part of this group and there was a recent presentation to the Town Council. Needs to be wider than just Taunton.)
  8. Federica Smith – Great work done by TACC. Suggested representing to SCC.
  9. John Hunt – Referred to 2017 hustings organised by TACC where many promises were made but nothing has changed. Always get a lot of talk but nothing gets done. Please get on with it. Can’t cycle into town because scared of traffic on Wellington Road.
  10. Hazel Prior Sankey – Exponential growth in the number of cycleways in past 30 years . She can show what has been done in South Taunton. Can go on and do more.
  11. Dixie Darch – TACC has done much work for the Council and we are fortunate to have a tenacious group that doesn’t give up. Schemes are more complicated than they often seem. SCC and SWT have been working closely and this model needs to be rolled out to the new Somerset Council. Detailed good practice needs to be rolled out to West Somerset.
  12. Ian Alridge (ex-daily cyclist to work) – Fully supports. Sympathic reference to a cyclist on Williton hill with lots of traffic behind. Knows two people killed while cycling. Referred to the importance of long distance routes and tourism. Need to get through routes Watchet to Minehead. Wants to be encouraged to get back on a bike. We should query whether advice from the Highway Authority to the Planning Committee take into account the affect of junctions on cyclists.
  13. Benet Allen – Thanks TACC. Has 2 bikes I in daily use. Would like to be able to cycle Minehead to Williton for daily work but needs a safe route.
  14. Mike Rigby – To give greater visibility to the issue he is happy to receive and facilitate the petition at SCC.

A358 scheme still ignores direct and safe cycling route

Three years ago, TACC submitted a petition to National Highways (NH) with three asks on their A358 dualling scheme. The three asks, and NH’s response, are as follows:

  1. A quality cycle track between Ilminster and Taunton. NH are proposing a convoluted and relatively hilly ‘off line’ route which will be shared with traffic. This is way short of what should be provided.
  2. Safe and attractive crossing to A358/Junction 25 at the M5 – a bridge or a tunnel. NH have actually back tracked on their earlier proposed improvements.
  3. Confirmation that wherever the road cuts across quiet rural lanes, safe crossings will be provided. NH are proposing two traffic free bridge crossings on the southern section of the route. But one of the most popular crossings at Mattocks Tree Green is proposed to become very hostile for active travel.

Our petition is supported by over 1000 people.

Our comments to NH following the June consultation on the amended scheme

Despite working constructively with the National Highways Project Team throughout the Consultation Process, the cycling provision in the Supplementary Consultation of June 2022 falls well short of the direct and safe quality strategic cycling route the £350m scheme should provide (especially given DfT policy and design guidance ‘Gear Change’).

Picture of cyclist on road
Part of the trafficked ‘off line’ cycle route proposed by National Highways – Start of the long climb through Ash Hill

TACC accepted that the ‘offline’ option proposed by NH potentially had some benefits on some sections, but the proposed offline cycle route meanders both horizontally and vertically compared with the more direct alignment of the A358. Given that NH propose to ban cycling on the A358, this is unfair and creates an in-built bias against active travel and in favour of carbon based transport.

Also, if ringfenced funding and a legal agreement for improvement work on Somerset Highways roads is not in place, we do not believe these will be delivered. These must address safety concerns on the existing Henlade-Thornfalcon dual carriageway section and the A358 at Horton Cross.

However, if agreement cannot be found between National Highways & Somerset County Council on who will fund the offline sections then the only option is to return to the parallel cycle track proposal, which contrary to NH’s assertion, would not sever the local cycling network or the NCN route, as it would be accessible at each of the proposed crossings.

Modest changes by NH do not address main issues

NH has completely ignored the current and projected growth of e-bikes and their potential for longer journeys between settlements with benefits that modal shift brings.

The modest changes made after the Statutory Consultation of November 2021 are welcome and reduce cycling network severance, but do not address many of the issues, including delivering a good quality Ilminster-Taunton strategic cycle route (in particular the offline sections), safety – especially at Mattocks Tree Green junction and at Southfields roundabout – and a comprehensive solution for cyclists crossing M5 Junction 25.

Based on this, we are objecting to the project on the basis of inadequate cycle provision. We are willing to work with NH on the lead up to the Public Examination, to agree a much improved solution. This work needs to address the specific issues we have outlined to them.

We will continue to lobby for a better solution that TACC can support.

Matt Day, Mike Ginger & Jonathan Sladden
TACC representatives

Somerset County Council apologises for errors

Somerset County Council (SCC) has apologised after officers failed to consult and carry out a risk assessment for changes to a junction in central Taunton. In early 2021, SCC introduced a dedicated left turn filter lane to increase capacity to cars on the Castle Street/Wellington Road junction. This put cyclists going ahead to the Wellington road cycle provision in conflict with left turning traffic.

Initially, SCC ignored representations from individual cyclists and the hazard was in place for nearly a year. When TACC approached them, the problem was resolved.
A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that the original changes were made without consultation and a risk assessment. We feel that this showed a disregard for safety of vulnerable road users.

Castle Street/Wellington Road junction

The full response to the complaint to SCC is below:
Thank you for raising your concerns regarding how the minor traffic signal changes were made to the Castle Street/A38 junction in Taunton.  There was no intention to adversely affect cyclists and the changes were reverted once officers were made aware of the implications [Note: this wasn’t the case – Ed.]. In hindsight, risk assessments and consultations should have been undertaken, for which I can only apologise.

As you may be aware, the County Council has recently been doing a lot of work on Active Travel, especially following the Governments launch of its Cycling and Walking Plan for England, through the  Gear Change document  and also the launch of Design Guidance LTN 1/20 in 2020.  We are now therefore more focussed on these issues and the need for a greater emphasis on designing for encouraging safe active travel.  Moving forward our teams will assess the impact of any traffic signal design changes, and if these affect vulnerable road users then appropriate processes such as safety audit and consultation will be included, prior to scheme implementation.

I hope the above helps to reassure you, and I also apologise for the delay in getting a reply to you.

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