GLENTRAMMON ROAD MINI-ROUNDABOUT SURVEY
Collisions at the Mini-Roundabout
Following the article in the September 2020 newsletter, Cllr Mike Botting has advised that he contacted the Head of Highways at the Council, who responded as follows:
"There have been 8 minor injury collisions at the junction of Glentrammon Road with Farnborough Hill in the past three years (to the end of 2019) with only one being in 2019. This makes the site count as a location to be considered for remedial measures (if funding for such is reinstated). However, this junction has been “treated” at least twice in recent years and there is nothing more that can reasonably be done to make improvements here. The road markings are not particularly worn, so there is not even that to be improved.
I am not sure I can say that statistically it is a safe location, but it is not a priority for intervention as, even if we had funding, there is not an obvious cause to treat."
Cllr Botting urther responded as follows:
"From a personal perspective this is one of the safest roundabouts in the area, the sightlines are excellent on three of the four roads and adequate on the other. If drivers drive in accordance with the directions of the highway code and within the speed limit we really should never have collisions at this location. I have however still asked the head of highways to get a traffic engineer to examine the location and advise if any further improvements can be made. The article itself refers to ‘being ignored by unobservant drivers’ which I think is the main cause of collisions at this location, perhaps this should be the theme of the article and not the apparent lack of signage which I personally disagree with. You will note that the word Accident was removed several years ago and replaced by the word Collision because frankly the is no such thing as an accident, every collision is caused individually or collectively by a person’s actions?"
Our ward Councillors work hard on behalf of local residents but this particular matter, although a continuing concern locally, does not have an obvious solution. If drivers do not adhere to speed restrictions and ignore road signs, it is a challenge to overcome the issue. A suggestion of a larger roundabout sign between the Crescent and the roundabout has been made, as the current one is quite small. The flashing sign should alert drivers to slow down but that straight run tempts some to speeds well in excess of the 30mph limit.
Following the article in the September 2020 newsletter, Cllr Mike Botting has advised that he contacted the Head of Highways at the Council, who responded as follows:
"There have been 8 minor injury collisions at the junction of Glentrammon Road with Farnborough Hill in the past three years (to the end of 2019) with only one being in 2019. This makes the site count as a location to be considered for remedial measures (if funding for such is reinstated). However, this junction has been “treated” at least twice in recent years and there is nothing more that can reasonably be done to make improvements here. The road markings are not particularly worn, so there is not even that to be improved.
I am not sure I can say that statistically it is a safe location, but it is not a priority for intervention as, even if we had funding, there is not an obvious cause to treat."
Cllr Botting urther responded as follows:
"From a personal perspective this is one of the safest roundabouts in the area, the sightlines are excellent on three of the four roads and adequate on the other. If drivers drive in accordance with the directions of the highway code and within the speed limit we really should never have collisions at this location. I have however still asked the head of highways to get a traffic engineer to examine the location and advise if any further improvements can be made. The article itself refers to ‘being ignored by unobservant drivers’ which I think is the main cause of collisions at this location, perhaps this should be the theme of the article and not the apparent lack of signage which I personally disagree with. You will note that the word Accident was removed several years ago and replaced by the word Collision because frankly the is no such thing as an accident, every collision is caused individually or collectively by a person’s actions?"
Our ward Councillors work hard on behalf of local residents but this particular matter, although a continuing concern locally, does not have an obvious solution. If drivers do not adhere to speed restrictions and ignore road signs, it is a challenge to overcome the issue. A suggestion of a larger roundabout sign between the Crescent and the roundabout has been made, as the current one is quite small. The flashing sign should alert drivers to slow down but that straight run tempts some to speeds well in excess of the 30mph limit.
Please help us by completing and submitting this form whenever an accident - or even a near miss - occurs there.
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