Category: Safety / Health

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.

Cycle lanes in Taunton still painted

New government policy and design standards advise against painting unprotected cycle lanes on busy traffic streets. Better protected infrastructure is called for. We are therefore baffled as to why Somerset County Council (SCC) has gone into cycle lane painting mode, set out in an article on highwaysindustry.com titled ‘Transport schemes in Somerset to benefit from £15.4m Government funding’, and shown in our pics below.

This funding will cover a number of schemes, of which three have currently being confirmed, namely red surfacing on some of Taunton’s cycle lanes, widening and resurfacing the cycle routes between Minehead and Carhampton, and strengthening and improving the footpath between Minehead and Williton.

We’ve asked SCC a couple of times what is behind all this, but there is a deafening silence. We’ll keep asking them. We have liaison meetings with SCC, but this was never mentioned.

Creech Castle Scheme bollards

On the other side of Creech Castle Junction, the footway on the Aldi side is being widened to allow shared use. The pelican at Bathpool will be a cycle and pedestrian crossing. This is part of the Creech Castle scheme where some of the cycling elements are being implemented earlier. It is substandard in terms of new DfT design guidance but will provide an alternative for a busy road, especially for students at Heathfield school.
But there will be hazardous bollards that SCC seem rather keen on. One person commented on our discussion group Facebook page: “Are they to assist with bunny-hopping over pedestrians?  The sign is right, just in the wrong place – it’s not pointless, just an unnecessary risk where it is. But the scheme sounds like a good compromise – especially for kids on bikes”.

Cycle sign painted on roadCycle lanes Bridgwater Road

Safe cycling in winter 2020/21

In these dark winter days with challenging weather and road conditions it’s wise to pay attention to a few safety measures before you hit the road. In a video made by Avon and Somerset Police, TACC’s Bikeability Instructor Nick Warner gives winter cycling tips about clothing, lights, the technical condition of your bike and your position on the road. A must-watch with a good checklist.
 

Pass Cyclists Safely campaign launched

Overtaking too closely endangers the lives of cyclists and horse riders – that’s the key message behind a major new campaign this October, backed by Somerset County Council’s Road Safety Team, Avon and Somerset Police, and Taunton Area Cycle Campaign. Operation Close Pass involves taking action against motorists who endanger cyclists and horse riders by passing them too closely. Motorists should ensure there is a 1.5 metre distance when they are overtaking cyclists – it’s the law.

Pass Cyclists Safely sign

Avon and Somerset Police are using the campaign to highlight the importance of road users reporting incidents online of near misses and where camera footage of a road-related offence is available.
During the campaign 20 temporary ‘pass cyclists safely’ signs will be going up at key sites in and around Taunton from 19 October.
The signs were proposed by TACC which has also printed hi-visibility vests carrying the safe passing message. The signs and vests were funded by Avon and Somerset Police Road Safety Fund. Part of the initiative will also involve sharing advice with vulnerable road users to help them ride safely, legally and responsibly.

Mike Ginger of Taunton Area Cycling Campaign said: “We have distributed safe pass vests to dozens of cyclists who have reported on their positive effects. We are pleased to be working with the County Council and police to re-force this safety message with signing on key routes.”

“Operation Close Pass is about ensuring the safety of vulnerable road users,” said Cllr John Woodman, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport. “Motorists must give cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders as much room as they would if they were passing a car – as we’ve seen, the results can be tragic if they don’t.”

Background information

If you experience a near miss or have captured an incident on camera please report this at the
Avon and Somerset Police webpage.
Somerset County Council has assessed locations and will be installing the signs and police officers will be riding the routes for compliance.
Surveys carried out by TACC and reports on the Police ’Near Miss’ reporting website highlight how dangerous and intimating close overtaking is for cyclists.
The Campaign anticipates one of the proposed changes to the Highway Code, which is currently out for consultation, by the Department for Transport.

Minor improvements but no significant change Junction 25

This post is an update of our report about safety concerns about the A358 and Junction 25 works from 25 July 2020. We’ve lobbied Somerset County Council and the contractor Alun Griffiths on the many problems and the following minor improvements have been made:

  • Signage blocking cyclists & walkers visibility on southbound slip. These have been reduced in size and moved slightly.
  • The button to control the traffic lights on the slip road off the northbound slip is out of reach of pedestrians and cyclists. Siemens (the signal subcontractor) has been asked to pull some slack through on the cables which will allow the signal column to be moved closer to the footway and therefore make the push button more accessible to all users. This will be rectified shortly.
  • No signage at Ruishton Lane showing cyclists can pass roadworks, meaning some may use the very busy A358 via Henlade. When these are reinstated later in the project, signage for this will be included.

We also complained to the industry ‘Considerate Constructors Scheme’ of which Griffiths is a member. Non-compliance with their code just gets a report on findings, with ejections being the absolute last resort. It is one of those pay-for schemes so has no real teeth.
Somerset County Council as clients should be capable of fixing these issues themselves and TACC should not need to do their job for them. However we will continue to lobby in a constructive way and complain where we have to.

An inaccessible push button
An inaccessible push button
Ruishton Lane road closed sign
Ruishton Lane road-closed sign
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