Telford & Wrekin Council Watch

Gross Incompetence Over EP A442

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Written by John Franklyn

Saturday, 05 July 2008

Now we know why Andrew Eade, Steve Bentley and Nick Kitchen will not answer my email about the EP A442. Despite having gone through customer services and my email being forwarded to Andrew Eade, he again has not answered,

Now We Know why!!

It is very clear that Telford and Wrekin Council do not have a clue what is happening. Telford and Wrekin Council have changed the way they use their statistics so often, they are completely lost and do not offer the same information to anyone who asks the same or similar questions.

In the latest FOI about the EP A442 issued on the 30 06 08, the Council are saying the following,

1. A442 Queensway post scheme (1/07/06 - 15/06/08)

Accidents involving traffic signs/traffic signals 2

Total number of accidents 34

2. A442 Queensway 3 years pre-scheme 30/06/03 - 1/07/06)

Accidents involving traffic signs/traffic signals 9

Total number of accidents 80

3. Information currently not held by Council

4. Information currently not held by Council

5a. One vehicle accidents Great Britain 2005 - Non built up roads (over 40mph, excluding motorways)

Accidents involving traffic signs/traffic signal 787

Total number of accidents 47,950

Source: Road Casualties Great Britain 2005, Department for Transport

5b. Telford and Wrekin Borough wide accidents (1/7/2006 - 15/06/2008)

Accidents involving traffic sign/traffic signal 13

Total number of accidents 762

6. The aim of the scheme implemented in June 2006 was to address the continuing rise in accidents by introducing a lower speed limit and a change in the carriageway layout, which more accurately reflected current highway design standards. This created a safer environment that encouraged a change in driver attitude and behaviour along the route. In this respect the scheme has been successful in almost halving the number of accidents in both 2006 and 2007 from the 30 recorded in 2005. There are currently no plans to change the speed limit back to 70mph as accident numbers remain significantly lower than those prior to the schemes introduction.

7. The Council commissioned a Stage Three Road Safety Audit following completion of the work on the A442 Local Safety Scheme. The Safety Audit was carried out by a qualified audit team from consultants Jacobs with comments from West Mercia Police. The purpose of the Safety Audit is to review the design of the scheme from a drivers point of view and they rarely make comments regarding the number of signs unless there is a issue of reduced visibility. As part of the improvements to the A442, passively safe sign posts were introduced along the whole 9.5km route. Passively safe posts conform to BS EN 12767:2000 requirements to minimise vehicle impact in the event of a collison. These posts replaced less suitable steel or aluminium posts which no longer conformed to updated safety guidance.

So, just what is the truth about the EP A442?

Is it the above?

Or is it as stated recently and covered by the Shropshire Star and BBC and then advertised in new signage along the EP A442,

2006 – Accidents 17 Casualties 21

2007 - Accidents 16 Casualties 29

This clearly brings into question the statistics issued by the Council on 27^th July 2007 as follows

I can provide you with the following information in relation to your request for information on the A442 Queensway.

 Length of route studied – 9.5km (excludes Trench Lock Interchange)

 The previous casualty figures (174 in 5 years) were recorded during the period 1/7/2001 to 30/06/2005

 Alterations to the A442 road layout commenced 22 May and finished 21 June 2006. Some direction signing had been completed prior to this date.

 The previous 5 year accident figure for KSI was 5 Fatal and 12 Serious.

 There were a total of 101 accidents recorded in the five year period. 22% of these involved shunts, traffic speeds involved in the accidents are not recorded. The shunts were recorded at the following sections.

o Trench Lock to Wombridge – 1

o Wombridge to Greyhound – 0

o Greyhound to Holinswood – 5

o Holinswood to Randlay – 4

o Randlay to Stirchley – 8

o Stirchley to Brockton Loop – 3

o Brockton loop to Brockton R’bt – 1

 On the casualty boards, the five year figures were amended because the previous casualty figures (above) were calculated from mid year to mid year. If we had simply up dated this figure as a rolling 5 year total we would have been faced with two issues. The first would have been that there would have been a rise in casualty totals displayed because the next mid year total from 30/06/2005 to 1/07/06 was greater than the total we were losing from 2001/02. The displayed totals would have reflected the continuing rise in casualty rates along the old route and not the reduced number as a result of the works undertaken. It was decided to promote a more positive message to the public by changing the headline casualty figures to a calendar year which would allow at least six months of data to reflect the new A442 works. Hence the drop in casualties from 42 in 2005 to 21 in 2006.

 The Council has considered the location of the casualty boards and does not consider them to be in a dangerous position or distracting to drivers.

 The total cost of the A442 Queensway works, including signing and traffic management was £634,541.63

 The Institute of Highways and Transportation (IHT) requested submissions for their annual awards. Telford and Wrekin entered a submission under the Road Safety ‘Reducing all Casualties’ category. I attach a copy of the submission for your information. There was no charge to the Authority for this submission. The cost for attending the award ceremony at the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, was £1200. However I would add that as a centre of excellence for local transport delivery it is important to share beat practice with other Authorities and agencies and attendance at such events achieves this. It also helps raises the profile of successful schemes in the Borough.

Telford and Wrekin Council made an astonishing admittance

“It was decided to promote a more positive message to the public by changing the headline casualty figures to a calendar year”

This claim is astonishing and shows that Telford and Wrekin Council changed statistics with the aim of looking good.

Is the EP A442 safer or isn’t it?

One thing we are certain of is – Telford and Wrekin Council have been completely incompetent over the handling of the EP A442.

Maybe Andrew Eade and the conservative Administration will one day provide the open and honest council they promised.

This is one issue that Proves beyond any reasonable doubt that

“They are not being open and honest”

Comments

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Nochangethen

|Registered |2008-07-06 20:22:51

The A442 is a mess, it is neither one thing or the other. The inconsitency of
the feeder roads must confuse "day visitors", either do away with the
priority feeder roads or make the whole lot the same and keep the right hand
lane for long travel i.e. only use the nearside lane as you approach your exit,
it works wonderfully well around Paris one of the busiest places for trafic on
earth!
Scrap all the trafic lights, taxi drivers are immune to them anyway and
some police vehicles without any wailers sounding or lights flashing.
Forget
all the calls for honesty just get someone who is competent in trafic
management, if you think its bad now,just wait until this super computer tries
to control the sequencing of all the areas trafic lights, whoever sold the
dummies this idea could sell fridges to eskimo's. You cannot control a vastly
random system(trafic) by computer, what you can do with a computer is add to
commuter...

ajcobbler

|SAdministrator |2008-09-06 20:33:06

The whole episode of the EP.A442 is best summed up by a retired senior road
engineer who read the councils letter to us.He said he was amazed the department
had the bare -assed cheek to go on line and state that it was going to give a
new headline to the statistics because the road was now a new route.

It was
clear to him that the statistics for the rest of 2006, after the roadworks were
completed in June, had not been included. That is why the very convenient
figures of 42 for 2005 was neatly cut by 50% to show 21 in 2006.Then there was a
hiatus as obviously something had gone wrong. For indeed the new calendar year
Jan 1st to end of December 2007 did not appear until halfway through
2008.

Why?. Because the new method had rebounded upon the department,showing
an increase of casualties.Had this nonsense not have taken place the figures may
have been consistent and a small rise for one or more years in a three year
per...

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