Tuckton Roundabout
Update 16 September: Cycle Symbols alerting drivers to bikes on the road over the bridge now installed, slight delay as planned for June. Update :16 March– Work has started and the lanes are currently single, by all reports this is not causing traffic to slow any more than the usual 15-20 mph at which its flows on and off all 4 lanes into this location. Photo at 0800 Monday 19th In a recent article by the Echo I was struck by the fact that it is local residents campaigning for a progressive highways design, while Bournemouth Council resist and proceed with an old-school multi-lane roundabout, regardless. You might think it would be the other way round! I.e.: The Council fighting for traffic evaporation and progress. So, I’ve made some further enquiries about people’s views since the voice of resident’s has clearly been suppressed during the “consultation”. . . Ms Mahon, a local teacher, led the campaign for the design at Tuckton to give more space to people walking and cycling and urban realm improvements arguing that single lanes – shown to be safer than multi-lane roundabouts – should be used rather than the proposed two lanes. She noted in the Echo, “The Council says it has ‘engaged with residents at every stage of the design process.’ Where is the proof of this? No options were provided to the public. Our petition was met with silence. Deputations met with deaf ears. When asked how many people favoured a one-lane or two-lane roundabout – No reply. A completely opaque process. If my child or anyone I know is injured I will sue the Council and encourage others to do the same.” The Councils ‘Report on Public Consultation’ says there was a total of 161 responses indicating that a petition, submitted by Ms Mahon of Brightlands Avenue and signed by over 350 locals and regular users of the roundabout, has been discounted. Mr Thomson, who supported the petition, described the consultation as a ‘sham’. “Bournemouth Council refuses to listen to the voice of the community while ‘pretending’ to consult. My children, who use the roundabout to go to 3 local schools, signed the petition along with hundreds of others daily users in good faith…What does the Councils response teach the next generation? That their views will be ignored?” He goes on to say, “A multi-lane roundabout is just what Tuckton may have needed back in the 1980’s but times have changed. This was the Council’s chance to reduce pollution, reduce the likelihood of people cycling on the roundabout from being hit. The Council call it ‘innovative’ but it looks like antiquated highways design with two wide car lanes.” Mrs Francis of Brightlands, a HENRA (local resident’s association) member, said “a one lane roundabout would be more in keeping and in scale with the local area. Roundabouts along the same route in Christchurch have one lane. The Council initially proposed a one-lane roundabout, told us at HENRA that it worked with the traffic model, suggesting it is not such an extreme or unrealistic option. With the approach roads all coned off to one lane now during the construction, you can see that its fine! None of the scare-mongering ‘gridlock’ has transpired. If only the Council had done a proper trial!” “We were also told by the Council at the HENRA meeting that having more than one lane in each direction on a crossing can cause accidents because one car obscures the view of the next. I was surprised when the Council said they were going to put in multi-lane crossings. Another resident, Mrs Cox, a teacher, wrote to the Council asking for “a single lane roundabout to eliminate confusion and to take on board local opinion. If this does cause delays, and I am not convinced that it would in the long term, then I would rather have this than more accidents. It would be very puzzling indeed if the reason why our roundabout has been flagged up for improvements in the first place was not properly addressed by the plans.” In reply Cllr Greene refused to acknowledge any danger in two lane roundabouts and claimed this was not a dual-carriageway, despite the plan showing a two-lane roundabout. He also said that the council could completely ban all road traffic to promote safety but this would not be practical. None of the residents I spoke to asked for the roundabout to be shut to motor traffic. However, this reply seemed to echo a response by Officer Richard Pearson minuted at the October 2017 HENRA meeting. Jean Morris from Belfield Rd, a local grandmother and member of HENRA noted “The Council man doing the presentation mocked a query on the safety record of two-lane roundabouts, saying “We could shut all the roads and that would make it safer”. The answer did not address what was a very good question. If one lane roundabouts are safer, why is the council putting back in a two-lane roundabout?”. A Technical Report by an independent transport consultancy outlines research on the risks of having more than one lane on roundabouts. London design standards advise authorities to “Minimise the number and width of entry, exit and circulatory lanes; more than one entry lane greatly increases the number of potential conflicts involving cyclists at the roundabout” Lucy Taussig, a resident and committee member of the national Road Danger Reduction Forum, says “The four raised crossings are welcome. But a single lane roundabout would increase safety further and enable the Council to meet its objectives to reduce car use by 10% by 2025. That date is not far off. A two-lane Tuckton roundabout in 2025 won’t help meet the target. Bellevue Rd has a one-lane approach and copes with over four times as much traffic as Wick Lane. Yet even on Wick Lane, the Council is building a two-lane approach. Why? Resistance to change perhaps? If Wick Lane currently had a one-lane approach I doubt the Council would be widening it to two.” “Many authorities I work with are now reducing motor traffic …