South Gloucestershire Council says that a decision on whether to go ahead with two proposed raised table zebra crossings in Coniston Road is unlikely to be made before June.
A public consultation on the statutory notices for the two proposed crossings (near Waterside Drive and Martin Close) took place from 25th January to 25th February and The Journal has learned that five responses were received.
Two of the respondents object to the ‘raised table’ element of the proposals, with one claiming the support of a near 700-signature petition against the introduction/consolidation of raised platforms along the well-used road.
Another respondent observes that many pedestrians and cyclists using the existing raised crossing near Waterside Drive seem to assume they have right of way over road users and calls for the scheme to be amended with the introduction of ‘give way’ markings for users of the crossings.
The final two respondents both welcome the proposals but ask that additional cyclists’ crossings be introduced immediately adjacent to the proposed zebra crossings. They also ask that ‘give-way’ lines be painted across the road and suggest that a distinctive colour be used for the road surface of the extra crossings.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request was used to obtain the responses as the Council has chosen not to publish the results of the consultation on its website. Replying to the FoI request, a Council officer wrote:
“The Council received objections to the proposals and a report to the Executive Member for Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment has been prepared in order that he can decide whether to accept, reject, or amend the proposals. The decision making process takes several weeks, meaning the decision is likely to be in June 2012.”
South Gloucestershire Council last week voted to scrap its Cabinet system, in which seven ‘executive’ Councillors make key decisions that cannot be overturned by the other 63 elected Councillors, deciding instead to return to the committee system of governance. The change will come into effect after the Council’s Annual Meeting in May and it is currently unclear if this will impact the decision making process for the Coniston Road crossings.
It seems that the Executive Member has now overruled the objections.
Work is scheduled to start soon, according to SGC’s latest roadworks report:
“Coniston Road, from 40m south of Martins Close to Highwood Road. (Patchway) Temporary traffic management. To enable the construction of a zebra crossing complete with anti skid surfacing and road markings.
Ward(s) affected: Patchway
Planned start date: 06 Jun 2012
Estimated completion date: 13 Jun 2012”