COUNCIL REJECTS BRIDGE SAFETY FEARS

Authority dismisses safety concerns raised by works contractor in third safety audit on controversial Rhubarb crossing scheme

Serious safety concerns raised by the contractors who worked on the controversial scheme to install pedestrian crossings near Rhubarb Bridge were dismissed as ‘confused’ by Peterborough City Council.

Skanska has issued repeated warnings to Peterborough City Council that putting in signalised pedestrian crossings across the slip roads at the A47/A15 junction near Brotherhood Shopping Park could see multiple collisions every year, including ones which may be serious or fatal.

The contractors has “strongly” urged the council not to progress with the crossings but to instead focus only on repairing Rhubarb Bridge, which is regularly used by pedestrians and cyclists.

The firm emphatically reiterated its previous serious warnings in its latest safety report which was produced after the council publicly declared that it would retain the bridge, but also proceed with the crossings as well.

It said keeping the crossings would see “an increase in potentially high severity collisions,” and that “it is again strongly recommended that the at-grade crossing element of the scheme is NOT delivered”.

However, those concerns were rejected by the council which has also criticised Skanska’s work, despite the firm being its official highways partner. The authority has also suggested that the contractors were ‘confused’ by what the finished scheme would look like when compiling its assessment.

In its official response to the safety audit the council - which has insisted that the crossings are safe - said pedestrians and cyclists felt ‘intimidated’ by using Rhubarb Bridge due to previous incidents of serious crime at the location - including robbery and that it was not accessible for vulnerable residents.

The speed limit by the has also been reduced from 40mph to 30mph to reduce the risk of serious injury.

A council spokesperson said: “We are giving all pedestrians the ability to choose how they wish to cross this road.”

However, a spokesperson for the Save Rhubarb Bridge campaign group said it will “take injury or death” before the council listens to concerns that the crossings are unsafe.

Criticisms of the controversial scheme have raged since 2017 when the Conservative-run council announced it was planning to knock down Rhubarb Bridge - which was described as being ‘at the end of its life’ - to replace it with pedestrian (at-grade) crossings and an extra lane of traffic.

At the time the council said replacing the popular foot and cycle bridge would cost up to £30 million, money it does not have.

The authority later did a U-turn with leader Cllr John Holdich personally promising in December 2017 that the council would save the bridge, with a later assessment revealing that it could be repaired.

Those repairs have now been carried out but campaigners have been dismayed that the council has also progressed with the crossings despite fears of a risk to the people crossing the busy slip roads.

Those safety concerns have been raised on multiple occasions by Skanska which has stated that there could an average of one fatal or serious collision every two years at the busy junction.

The contractors has issued three safety audits into the £5.5 million scheme which have also warned of an increased risk of vehicles colliding due to a build-up of traffic.

The latest safety audit, which was only made public after a request from the Peterborough Telegraph, was submitted to the council in October 2018 - more than a fortnight after the council’s Cabinet had given the green light for Rhubarb Bridge to be repaired.

It stated: “Given that the major defects (at Rhubarb Bridge) will be addressed prior to the delivery of the at-grade crossings, it is unclear why the at-grade crossing element of the scheme is proceeding.”

It added that “mixing NMU (non-motorised users, i.e. pedestrians and cyclists) and high volume traffic flows will result in an increase in potentially high severity collisions,” and that “it is again strongly recommended that the atgrade crossing element of the scheme is NOT delivered”.

The contractor also pointed out the lack of recorded personal injury collisions at the roundabout in previous years.

However, in its response to the audit, the council criticised Skanska for using data from Transport for London to assess the risks of using the crossings - instead of data from other Peterborough roads where crossings are in place - and for not highlighting the dangers of using the bridge.

It said that the contractor’s recommendation to not install the crossings failed to present a “sufficiently balanced view”.

Commenting on the latest safety audit, a council spokesperson insisted that it had been written before the council had decided to retain

Rhubarb Bridge.

However, they also claimed that Skanska may have been ‘confused’ as the contractors had admitted in its safety report that it was unsure what the final scheme would look like.

The spokesperson said: “The Stage Two Safety Audit was completed when it was proposed that the bridge would be replaced with pedestrian crossings only and the auditor’s comments are based on that proposal. Clearly, the scheme has changed in that the bridge has been repaired to supplement the new pedestrian crossings.

“The bridge, in itself, is not compliant with the Equality Act 2010 and so pedestrian crossings have always had to be a part of this scheme to allow some disabled and older people to cross. In addition, we know that some people would not feel safe to use the bridge at night for fear of crime and the pedestrian crossings offer them an alternative crossing point.

“The bridge is now reroundabout

‘We’ve been against the atgrade-crossings at Rhubarb Bridge from the start...’

Save Rhubarb Bridge campaign group

paired and strengthened and, having installed CCTV and the pedestrian crossings, we are giving all pedestrians the ability to choose how they wish to cross this road.

“In addition, the new roundabout design and interlinked traffic light systems will improve the flow of traffic around this key junction of the city, improving journey times for motorists.”

The Save Rhubarb Bridge campaign group said the crossings should only be used when repairs are being made to the bridge. A spokesperson said: “We’ve been against the at-grade-crossings at Rhubarb Bridge from the start. They don’t make sense for traffic flow or the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

“Yet again, the most recent independent safety audit warned the council of the risks to life. It’s shocking that the council ignored this advice when they made decisions about Rhubarb Bridge. It’s also a dereliction of duty that they hid the warnings from the public.

“We remain strongly opposed to the road-level crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. The scheme is inherently unsafe for those walking or cycling.”

Leader of the council’s Liberal Democrat group Cllr Nick Sandford said the report made clear the dangers posed by the crossings.

He added: “We have a council that is car obsessed. It’s obsessed that if a pot of funding is available it will go for it and will disregard the consequences.”

The traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing are currently in place but have yet to be switched on as the project stopped due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The council said a decision will be made soon when road projects will resume.

Waterproofing of the footbridge and completion of landscaping are due to take place in the summer.

The £5.5 million scheme received £3.85 million of funding from the Department for Transport.

Work is continuing at Rhubarb Bridge.

Roadworks around Rhubarb Bridge