The Petition of residents of Leicester East,
Declares that road safety has become a serious concern on Spencefield Lane, opposite St Paul’s Catholic School and Krishna Avanti Primary School; further that parents, teachers and local residents fear that inadequate pedestrian crossings and road safety measures risk the safety of school children and vulnerable adults who cross the road each day; and further that a local petition on this issue was signed by 362 individuals.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges Leicester City Council to implement measures to improve road safety on Spencefield Lane, including a pedestrian crossing, without delay.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Keith Vaz, Official Report, 17 June 2015; Vol. 597, c. 434.]
[P001529]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Transport:
Local highway authorities are responsible for managing the highway network in their area. They have a statutory responsibility to provide appropriate traffic management schemes for their roads. They have powers (under section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984) to take whatever measures they see as appropriate to manage traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve road safety.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for setting strategy and policy context, and establishing and managing relationships with organisations that are responsible for delivery.
The provision of pedestrian crossings is a matter for the local highway authority, in this case Leicester City Council. It is for them to decide where and what type of crossing to provide. In doing so, they may use various criteria to help them prioritise the needs of different sites, including accident records, but these criteria are not set centrally by the Department for Transport.
The Department’s advice to local authorities on this, LTN 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings, sets out a suggested framework for assessing potential sites, and deciding which, if any, crossing type is appropriate. This publication and others which provide guidance on a variety of traffic management measures such as traffic calming are available on the Department’s website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-transport-notes.
Following this guidance is not a regulatory requirement, and local authorities are free to set their own criteria for assessing and prioritising crossing sites if they wish. The authority could also consider other ways of making it easier to cross the road - for example, by installing other traffic calming measures.
The DfT’s THINK! campaigns and road safety education resources focus on teaching children how to cross the road safely. In particular, our Tales of the Road Highway Code booklet for young road users is a useful guide on road safety with emphasis on the Green Cross Code which teaches children how to cross the road safely. The materials are available free online at: http://think.direct.gov. uk/resource-centre.