Express & Star

We're afraid to walk the streets: Speed cuts on way after Sandwell pedestrians tell of no-go zones

Speed limits across Sandwell are poised to be cut after people said some roads have become no-go zones for pedestrians.

Published

Almost half of people questioned by the council admitted they didn't feel safe walking.

So bosses want to reduce the limit from 30mph to 20mph on some residential streets as part of a comprehensive five-year walking strategy to create safer streets.

Councillor Yvonne Davies, cabinet member responsible for health, said: "Since the first walking strategy we have halved the number of people reporting feeling unsafe walking in the borough, but a new, more focused strategy, based on delivering improvements is required.

"There are still far too many who don't feel comfortable for a variety of reasons including security, too much and too fast traffic."

A consultation run by the authority found 47 per cent of around 300 respondents felt that walking in Sandwell was either not 'very safe' or even 'fairly safe'.

Why is it any council's default position always to target the motorist?

It does not seem to matter whether it is Sandwell, where this speed limit cut has come about, or anywhere else, the motorist is seen as a nuisance rather than a customer to be served the same as everyone else.

Sandwell Council wants to create a 'better and more attractive environment'.

It could surely do this by encouraging more businesses into its borough to create jobs and growth.

To do that requires infrastructure and good transport links – and not just buses, trams and trains. We do not doubt that many people would like it if drivers slowed down on residential streets. Those who break the law and drive dangerously must be caught and punished because they present a danger to everyone – pedestrians and other road users alike.

And we agree entirely that there will be plenty of roads where a 20mph speed limit would be a sensible and proactive move, particularly as an alternative to speed bumps.

In such cases they should be brought in after asking the residents, the people who will have to live in and drive along those roads every day, what they think. They should not, however, be applied with a broad brush across six towns in a metropolitan borough the size of Sandwell.

Each street and estate will have its own challenges. While two thirds of people told a survey they wanted 20mph speed limits in 2011, that ratio should not be applied the same to every single road in every single district.

Indeed we have to challenge the council to look more closely into why people feel unsafe on its streets and address those issues. Crossing the road is one thing.

But one of the main reasons someone would feel unsafe would be the fear of crime. And therein lies the difficulty.

Everyone knows exactly where the motorists are and how to catch and fine them. Stopping yobs and muggers is another matter entirely.

They operate in the shadows and are long gone before police officers, some now driving around in cars with no sirens because of funding cuts, can get there.

Other proposals to improve roads include reducing what are branded the 'four main sources of street clutter'. These are given as bollards, signs, posts including lampposts and traffic lights and pedestrian guard rails.

The strategy also proposes to target irresponsible dog owners and litterers to clean up after themselves and their dogs, creating a more inviting network of roads in which to walk on.

Councillor Davies added: "This strategy outlines what we are going to do to encourage walking as a travel choice for work, leisure and school, to promote health and wellbeing through walking and to support groups that promote walking.

"Our job is to help the people of Sandwell to live happier and healthier lives through a better and more attractive environment and this strategy outlines how we intend to do achieve this over the course of the next few years."

In 2011, the British Attitudes Survey showed more than two-thirds of respondents, including motorists, wanted a 20mph speed limit in the streets where they lived.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.