Pelican plea (From Penarth Times)

Pelican plea

9:20am Thursday 4th February 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

I WOULD like to ask the Vale Council through your paper exactly how pedestrian safety will be improved by converting the two zebra crossings on Windsor Road into pelican crossings?

We should all recognise that Windsor Road is a busy area for pedestrians and there are large numbers crossing the road at both the official crossings and in between them.

This area is the heart of Penarth and should be made as people-friendly as possible. This means that road safety has to consider the whole section between the roundabout and the junction with Hickman Road and Arcot Street.

Pelican crossings give cars the right of way when their lights are green and thus cars will drive faster along Windsor Road. Zebra crossings, however, require motorists to be more alert and conscious of pedestrians, and thus they must drive more slowly.

It is well recognised internationally that the way to make our streets safer is to slow traffic down and require drivers to be more alert than by allowing them to drive faster and assume they have the right of way.

The research evidence shows that for Windsor Road to be made safer, what the council should do is leave the zebras alone and introduce a 20mph limit and appropriate traffic calming.

The current plans will actually make Windsor Road more dangerous. I would ask the council to rapidly review these plans.

Paul Kinnersley Via e-mail

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)