David Rees, Road Safety Manager, gave an update on the situation on Heron Road. He stated that there have been 7 collisions recorded over the past 5 years; this is the statutory information that local authorities use to decide on placement of traffic cameras. All 7 collisions were within the rural 40mph section of Heron Road. The government estimated that there were approximately 17 unrecorded collisions for every recorded one.

There was an evidence based 437 crashes reported last year where people were hurt. This indicated that there was a weight of evidence that other roads were a higher priority than Heron Road.

David stated that ‘No Entry’ signs were going to be installed, starting on the week commencing 15^th October 2018. He has looked into the maintenance of the road, including the tarmac and the road noise. He stated there is no budget to resurface the road currently but that there is a work plan for all roads within the Wirral. The road surface will continue to be monitored and when it has deteriorated to the level that action is required, David’s team will be recommending a road surface treatment. There are some markers/posts that need replacing, they were originally put in as part of a safety scheme, David has been in contact with colleagues to organise this.

David felt that self-illuminating speed signs would be worthwhile in the rural 40mph section of the road but that he would require £10-12k to install them and does not have this money currently but is looking into ways of funding this.

In the longer term the road needs a more major scheme.

David stated that he has lived on a road with similar issues of speeding and understands the frustration of the residents. It’s not possible to have police on the road at all times, he’s discussed installing a fixed camera with Merseyside Police and the road does not meet the criteria to be approved. David suggested that residents could help the situation by joining Community Speed Watch.

Councillor Andrew Gardner stated that Heron Road is the biggest issue in his area. He stated that the ongoing issue was the high number of accidents that would be considered of ‘low seriousness’ by the police. He continued that there is so much likelihood of a low-level accident that it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed. He stated that the illuminated 30mph sign does not work and asked if this can be fixed.

David Rees confirmed that the illuminated sign would be repaired.

The Chair suggested that the council should have another go at tackling the issues on Heron Road and that David’s team could look at creative ways of finding funding and ways to move these issues forward.

A resident stated that for people who live just off Heron Road such as those on Acres Road; the illuminated 30mph sign had been a useful safety feature as it would alert them of approaching, speeding cars when they were trying to pull out into Heron Road. The sign has now been broken for months. She asked if mirrors could be provided to give a better view of the junction.

David Rees stated that mirrors were not approved street furniture and could not be installed by the council.