Agenda item

The lead petitioner, Mrs P. Fredericks presented the terms of the petition requesting that the Council implement a crossing facility in Ripple Road outside the Westbury Centre.

Mrs Fredericks, a school crossing patroller of 30 years, recalled several incidents which made crossing at the island outside the Westbury centre unpleasant and unsafe.  She paid particular attention to vehicles making illegal U-turns in Ripple Road around the extended island.  She also reported that a number of cars emerging from Movers Lane ignored the traffic signs indicating a no right-turn, this exacerbated the danger to pedestrians.  Mrs Fredericks appealed for an increase in safety measures at the junction of Ripple Road and Movers Lane, particularly for less mobile pedestrians and families with young children.

In response to the petition, the Corporate Director of Regeneration, informed the Assembly that the regeneration directorate was aware of the situation in Ripple Road.  She reported that the safety of pedestrians was a top priority for the Council and that statistics showed that six accidents had occurred in the area in the past three years, one of those involved a pedestrian.  She advised that the island had been implemented as a traffic calming measure and not as a pedestrian crossing.  She continued to report that the width of the road and its categorisation as a blue light route meant that the Council would face difficulties should it decide to increase the size of the existing island.  The Corporate Director, also informed the Assembly that as a result of the information presented by the lead petitioner a site visit to the area had been conducted and that ongoing meetings with all interested parties would take place with a view to resolving the matter.

The Corporate Director confirmed that the Council was collecting traffic intelligence around the Ripple Road site.  She added that the intelligence was collected by both the local authority and London Buses.  She advised that more data would now be captured as a result of the information forthcoming from the lead petitioner.

The Corporate Director advised that preventative measures needed to increase in order to prevent cars making illegal U-turns and right-turns into Ripple Rd from Movers Lane.  She reported that the use of mobile CCTV cameras would increase and that they would be used alongside other preventative measures.

The Corporate Director advised that any work undertaken on the island would require full consultation with Transport of London and that the authority would need to take account of the potential impact any changes may have to traffic congestion on Ripple Road.  She further advised that the blocking off of the island would be a direct conflict to the existing street scene de-cluttering programme, which proposes to remove superfluous railings and guardrails.

The Corporate Director gave an assurance that an initial meeting with the lead petitioner and other interested parties would take place immediately and that an initial meeting with all of the emergency services would take between six to eight weeks to set up.  The service would also need to timetable a feasibility study, develop a project plan and prepare funding bids, meaning the process could take up to two years.

Councillor McCarthy, Lead Cabinet Member for Regeneration, confirmed his commitment to investigating the matter and gave his full support to the process outlined by the Corporate Director.  He assured the Assembly that Ward Members would also be invited to the meetings.  He also gave his praise to the officers responsible for progressing the matter, outlining his confidence in their commitment to serving the local community.