Two questions were submitted to the meeting of Area Committee 5 on Thursday 11 November about the proposed crossing on St Lukes Road between St Lukes Steps and Victoria Park. The written answers shed light on progress. TRESA director, Suzanne Audrey, also attended the meeting to thank the officers and councillors for this update, and to offer TRESA’s support in progressing the crossing. She was informed that the anticipated ‘completion date’ for the crossing is now September 2022.
The written questions and answers are set out below and online here:
Question from Suzanne Audrey
I read that work on the pedestrian crossing at St Luke’s Road has been postponed because of the possibility of it being funded from another project. Please can you give information about the alternative project and the new timetable?
Response
The work on a proposed crossing has not been postponed. We need to make sure any transport interventions are delivered with the broader context of the transport network in mind, and as such, we had to take the time to coordinate plans with other developments and potential highways schemes in the area that could have affected the deliverability or viability of the scheme.
We have completed that part of the project and have determined that it can continue to be taken forward as an independent scheme and that there are no clashes with any other projects. As such we are continuing to develop designs to deliver a scheme that achieves the communities’ aspiration of making it safer for pedestrians to cross in this location.
We have more assessments and design work to undertake, but once complete we will be working with local councillors to determine a way forward. We anticipate having these discussions with the Councillors before the end of the calendar year.
Question from Tom Bosanquet
I was interested to read your response to TRESA’s question at your 29th July Committee. Your use of the phrase “This would be frustrating to all” was particularly frustrating – this project has been dragged out already for over two years with, time and again, promises for updates which have come to nothing. You seem to have finally drawn up a design, though I note continued frustration with sharing this with local representatives like our Councillors, let alone the residents who have been waiting patiently for progress.
My attention was drawn to a ‘potential overlap’ back in June. Your wording in the response, twice using the word ‘potential’ is vague in the extreme, certainly giving rise to frustration. We are now several months on and the picture is no clearer. You must do better.
The residents of Lower Totterdown have long been asking for a safe crossing at the bottom of the St Luke’s steps – the project was pushed by our previous Councillor, Jon Wellington. This gave hope, but now your system seems to be changing the rules. The fundamentals have not and will not change – we have a supremely dangerous stretch of road where drivers are given the free rein to speed and dominate what is clearly a regular route to the park & local primary school. There is a need for a safe crossing here no matter what other plans are afoot – though, frankly, traffic calming measures would also be welcome.
So, I ask – do you understand why residents are deeply frustrated by your dithering? And when will we finally see the consultation that Marvin Rees told me, back in early March, should be coming in late-Spring 2021 – let alone the actual building of the promised & budgeted crossing?
Response
When the Area Committee allocated funding in September 2019 for a scheme to provide “a safe crossing on St Luke’s Road between St Luke’s Steps and Victoria Park”, this was the start of the project. A significant amount of work has to be done after that point to assess options and put together a design that is feasible, safe, delivers the communities’ aspirations and meets other Council objectives. This takes time.
In this instance, we have also had the pandemic to deal with which limited the amount of site work that could be conducted, as well as the number of people available to work on it.
Earlier in the year we anticipated that we would be able to consult on a scheme by late Spring, but we have had to take time to coordinate with other developments and potential highways schemes in the area to check whether these could have affected the deliverability or viability of a scheme. It would have been irresponsible to have spent the allocated funding consulting on a proposal that was either not possible or required as a result of other work.
We have completed that part of the project and have determined that it can continue to be taken forward as an independent scheme and that there are no clashes with any other projects. As such we are continuing to develop designs to deliver a scheme that achieves the communities’ aspiration of making it safer for pedestrians to cross in this location.
We have more assessments and design work to undertake, but once complete we will be working with local councillors to determine a way forward. We anticipate having these discussions with the Councillors before the end of the calendar year.