A4 Crossing Petition Submitted to Boris Johnson
Cllr. Ruth Cadbury asks Transport for London for safety improvements
A petition signed by over 300 Brentford parents and local residents has been handed to London Mayor Boris Johnson calling for further safety improvements to the pedestrian crossings on the A4. For five years Brentford residents and their Councillors have been pushing Transport for London (TfL) to improve pedestrian safety on the A4 crossings under the M3, and have pledged £500,000 to Tfl for this, yet no serious work has yet taken place.
Cllr Cadbury, who collected the signatures for the petition said; “I am so frustrated at the lack of serious action by TfL, and so are the parents at our local schools as I confirmed when I met them in the last few days of the summer term. The support for the petition shows TfL just how concerned are local families who cross the A4 every day”
“Whilst Hounslow is erecting warning signs on our roads that approach the A4, to date TfL have only made minor changes to the lights and the white lines, and are talking about putting in some additional lighting, but I don’t feel this goes far enough”.
She added. “Drivers swing round the corners so quickly, they either don’t see the signals because they are in their blind spot, or they believe the signal s areon red for drivers already on the A4, so do not apply to them. I would like TfL to explore with the Department of Transport the possibility of using continental-style signals at drivers-eye level, on the signal columns.”
Cllr Cadbury gave the petition to Labour Assembly Member Murad Qureshi, who handed it to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson on Wednesday, 12th September. Cllr Cadbury and AM Murad Qureshi are pictured joining local parents on the school run this week on the crossing .
• The A4 under the M4 elevated section is crossed by four local roads: Clayponds Avenue, Ealing, Windmill and Boston Manor Roads and children form Lionel Road, Green Dragon, Our Lady of St John and St Pauls schools cross each day.
• At each of these roads there are signalled pedestrian crossings over the north, and south sides of the A4
• On a daily basis vehicles turning from these side roads onto the A4 drive through the red lights, even when there are pedestrians crossing on the “Green Man”
• There have been several near misses and at least one fatality on these crossings in recent years
• Councillors at the Isleworth & Brentford Planning Committee agreed that £500,000 from recent planning applications should be allocated to improving safety at these crossings. However to date only minor changes have been implemented. Hounslow Council is installing signs on the side roads warning drivers of the crossings on the A4.
• A “European style” driver’s eye level set of lights, on the signal columns, would be far more visible to drivers who have a multitude of information to adjust to, as well as poor visibility as they turn on to the A4. There is the additional challenge of the large support structures of the M4 adding to visibility problems, as well as drivers believing the red signal is not for them but only for those already driving on the A4. The Department of Transport do not permit drivers-eye level signals, but Cllr Cadbury believes that TfL should investigate this option, and lobby the DfT for a change of policy.
September 14, 2012