Petition - Safer Pedestrian Crossings on Rosemary Lane, Blackwater

Thank you for your petition.

The need for formal pedestrian crossings, such as Zebra or Puffin crossings, is assessed using numerical criteria based on both traffic flow and pedestrian volumes. The principle is that formal crossings will only operate satisfactorily if they are used on a regular basis throughout the day. At locations where few pedestrians cross for most of the day, drivers may tend to ignore the crossing and put pedestrians at risk when they use the facility. The criteria also provide a means of comparison between competing sites across the County. Currently, financial resources for pedestrian facilities are extremely limited, and the assessment process ensures that funding is directed to locations with the highest need.

The County Council’s policy is to support traffic measures where evidence clearly indicates that they will offer direct benefits in terms of road casualty reduction and are primarily focussed on those sites where there is a related road casualty collision history and where a treatable pattern or common causation of casualty collisions can be identified. Following a review of the collision database, the team has confirmed that there have been no recorded injury collisions involving pedestrians on Rosemary Lane within the past five years.

This is a very difficult situation to improve upon, and this road does not warrant any further measures at present, compared with other less fortunate locations.

More information can be found on our Making road safer page, including the County Council’s traffic management policy, Hampshire County Council Traffic Management Policy.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Passenger Transport