David Rees, Road Safety Manager (Highways and Transport) introduced a report which set out officer views on the pedestrian casualty analysis prepared by the Wirral Pedestrian Association and highlighted the Council’s recent performance in improving road safety for pedestrians.

Wirral had a long term record of improving road safety for pedestrians. In 1994 there were a total of 304 pedestrians of all age groups and all severities injured on Wirral, of these 84 were killed or seriously injured (KSI). By 2015 this had reduced to 109 pedestrian casualties injured with 28 KSIs. The ratio of KSI casualties to slight class injuries had also reduced.

Whilst the performance in 2015 was improved compared to the figures for all pedestrian casualties in 2013 or 2014, overall for the most recent period of 5 years the reduction in all pedestrian casualties had slowed down. The report also highlighted the causation types of casualties and the proportion of pedestrian KSIs compared to other road user groups. A variety of Local authority approaches to road casualty reduction had also been examined such as those set by Bristol, Birmingham and Cheshire West and Chester.

Responding to comments from Members, David Rees’s comments included:

·  The Road Safety section was very proactive in their work through liaison with the Police and Fire and Rescue Service and in their educative role in schools and the wider community and he outlined the terms of the statutory duty in respect of road safety. He acknowledged there was a reactive role to take in designing out risks to pedestrian safety through physical evidence where the Authority prioritised its actions.

·  There was a need to use funds wisely in a climate of diminishing resources and where there was a good road safety record then he saw no necessity for a traffic survey, such as on Saughall Massie Road.

·  The Council had no records of pedestrian claims arising or road safety issues arising from the placement of ‘A’ boards on the footway during the last 10 years. Whilst the obstruction of footways could potentially be a nuisance this could be dealt with using current procedures.

·  The Road Safety section was very proactive with regard to distraction issues, such as people using mobile telephones whilst driving which was now about as problematic as drink driving. The issue of mobile ‘phone use was raised with teenagers through education programmes.

·  Parking on pavements was not an issue with regard to pedestrian KSIs. Notices were still issued to vehicles which parked on pavements, although he did not have data as to how many were issued.

·  There would be a Liverpool City Region Road Safety Strategy which was currently in development and likely to come forward in the Autumn. Wirral‘s emerging Road Safety Strategy would follow and complement this and he did not see any duplication.

·  Best practice had been looked at in other authorities.

·  There was a capital budget of approximately £500,000 for road safety.

Some Members questioned the validity and tone of the Wirral Pedestrian Association report. Other Members expressed concern with their being such a difference between the two reports.

David Rees acknowledged that there was a lot of work still to do with the aspiration to be at the top of the league table, though this would require a lot of resources. Serious progress had been made with regard to road safety education.

During the course of the debate on this item Councillor Stapleton declared a personal interest due to the mention of a possible planning application for a Fire Station at Saughall Massie Road, by virtue of her membership of the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority.

The Chair thanked David Rees for his report and for doing a tremendous job.

The Chair then invited Victoria Doran of the Wirral Pedestrian Association to address the Committee. She stated that the report of the Head of Environment and Regulation appeared to assume that all reductions in casualties were as a result of Council actions. There had been a major improvement in car design and also a reduction in pedestrian miles walked on Wirral. She suggested that people were frightened to go out on the roads, although she was not aware of any figures for pedestrians on roads. She would encourage the Council to look at best practice not just nationally but internationally. The incidents of pavement parking and ‘A’ boards on pavements could be a reason for people not going out. She congratulated the Council on the longer courses for driver safety.

The Chair then invited Chief Superintendent Ian Hassall, Area Commander of Wirral, Merseyside Police, to address the Committee. He referred to the amount of road safety education taking place in schools. He was aware of the notices issued to vehicles parking on pavements but he did not have any figures as to how many had been issued. He informed the Committee of the budgetary pressures which Merseyside Police were under and that there would be a structural change to the organisation from January, 2017. Each month KSI figures were provided and scrutinised and the Police did devote resources to reducing KSIs.

A Member referred to the reduction in the Police budget and the loss of 2,000 people from the Merseyside Police force over three years and the detrimental effect this was having on neighbourhood policing.

The Chair thanked Ian Campbell, in his absence from the Wirral Pedestrian Association, for all the work he was doing into trying to bring down the numbers of pedestrian casualties. He then paid tribute to David Rees, Chief Superintendent Ian Hassall and Victoria Doran for their work and presentations to the Committee.

It was then moved by Councillor Blakeley and seconded by Councillor Steve Williams that –

(1)  Committee notes and thanks officers for their report.

(2)  Committee also thanks the Wirral Pedestrian Association for their input

(3)  Committee asks that an independent audit is commissioned to determine the current position in Wirral with regard to pedestrian safety and KSIs.

The motion was put and lost (4:10).

On a motion by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Realey, it was then –

Resolved (14:0) - That this Committee:

(1)  Notes the information contained within the report and;

(2)  Endorses the current holistic approach to casualty reduction and promotion of schemes and initiatives which assist the reduction of all road casualties.