NHS report calls for 20 mph

Green Party welcomes NHS report calling for hump-free, bump-free 20mph speed limits on all residential roads

Health directors’ new report agrees with long-standing Green Party policy

The Green Party this morning welcomed a new NHS report (1) on road deaths and injuries which strongly recommends a general 20 mph speed limit, without humps and bumps, on all residential roads.

Directors of Public Health in the North West have produced the report, which draws attention to the high rates of death and injury on roads in the region where children are more likely to be injured in RTCs than anywhere else in the country.

Green Party spokesperson on sustainable development Prof John Whitelegg commented:

 “This is an incredibly important report from NHS Directors of Public Health.  It says we have a serious problem with death and injury on the roads and it says the solution is a 20 mph limit. I agree. “The report presents compelling evidence that lives could have been saved and injuries reduced if 20 mph limits had been introduced in residential areas.”

The reports main points include:

·         Child casualty information shows that two-thirds of children who are killed or seriously injured on the roads are boys.

Over four-fifths of child casualties occur on roads that have a speed limit of 30 mph, and statistical modelling shows that up to 140 killed or seriously injured child casualties could be saved each year if 20 mph speed limits had been applied in these areas.

Notes

 

1. The full report, Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties in the North West of England, was produced by the North West Public Health Observatory in conjunction with NHS North West, the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, the Child and Maternal Health Observatory and the Trauma and Injury Intelligence Group. See http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/Publications/Forms/rta.html.

2. Further information from Green Party press office, 020 7561 0282.

Graffiti Watch: Park Street

The latest eye sore to be reported in.

Globe article on road safety

The Wirral Globe has picked up on our press release re road safety, or rather the lack of it when it comes to Merseyside. You can read the article here.

We'll be responding to the police comments which I feel are complacent given the shocking nature of these figures.

Road Safety Press Release

The Green Party press release highlighting the shocking truth about road safety on Merseyside has now been published on our website.

Latest Activity Report

Welcome to the latest monthly update for residents with email. I’d like to take the opportunity to wish each of you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2011.

It’s been a tough few weeks given the weather combined with the holiday season. I know many residents were left unhappy by the piles of rubbish that built up lately. Bin collections are now back to normal and any back log should be cleared by the end of this week. If you continue to experience difficulties into next week, please let me know and I’ll be happy to chase it.

I also had several calls regarding the lack of gritting on certain roads over Christmas. I complained about the lack of attention to both Westbourne Road and Clifton Road. It really isn’t good enough that important routes such as these were left untreated.

Road Safety: going backwards

Many of you will be aware of our campaigns to improve road safety. Unfortunately, based on the latest evidence, there is still much to be done. Final statistics for 2009 show a further deterioration in local casualty rates. For children the picture is especially bleak. Child pedestrians in Wirral are now twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with other parts of the country.

12 months ago, in response to our campaign, Wirral Council promised a step change in road safety. Since the new Tory-led Council came in last May nothing has changed while government cuts are undermining existing road safety measures.

However, these figures raise serious questions nut just for Wirral Council but also Merseyside police. Merseyside now has the second worst record on pedestrian safety in the entire country. This would appear to raise serious questions about how our police force treats road safety. Over the coming weeks we will be asking those questions and looking for serious answers.

Streets update

Every week I keep an eye on the latest planning applications. Two caught my eye lately and may be of interest to you if you live near Church Road or Hampden Road. Full details are on my website.

Fly-tipping never seems to go away. The latest incidents concern Westbourne Road. As in many other cases we not only report the fly-tipping itself but also request that specific households be spoken to about their responsibilities in managing household waste. Meanwhile, the graffiti I reported on Westbourne Road has now been cleared as has the waste dumped on Beech Road..

Broken street lights have been reported on Park Grove (Whetstone Lane) and on Elm Grove. One of the lights reported recently on Bentinck Street has been fixed but another remains outstanding and has been reported again.

Anti-social behaviour issues in Rectory Close have been reported to the police while persistent violation of the parking regulations on Rodney Street have been referred to traffic management.

As ever, if there are outstanding issues of concern to you, please let me know.

new planning applications

Every week I keep an eye on new planning applications. A few have caught my eye of late and I've sent details to residents who may be affected in and around Church Road/Hampden Road.

The first concerns the proposed retail development on Church Road and relates to changes to the facilities serving the site. In particular, the bin storage facilities which originally were to be "enclosed" will now be "fence surrounded". You can review the full application (APP/10/01387) here.

The second relates to an extension of planning permission to replace Park Church Hall on Hampden Road with 4 semi-detached houses. You can review this application (APP/10/01417) here. My own feeling is the extension should only be granted if the applicant (who lives in Wallasey) is prepared to maintain the site in a better condition.

If you have any concerns about these applications the Green Party will be happy to assist in whatever way we can.

Road Safety: the shocking truth

The posting below tells you everything you need to know about road safety on Merseyside. Our region is the second most dangerous place in the entire country to be a pedestrian. This raises serious questions for both our local authorities and our local police service.

The figures for Wirral are just as bleak. Child pedestrians in Wirral are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured as their counterparts across the UK. We'll be following this up with a press release. It really is time to ask serious questions about road safety in Wirral and across Merseyside.

Thanks to Living Streets Wirral for the data.

Merseyside: A Dangerous Place to Walk

Road safety

View more documents from Pat Cleary.

A Happy New Year...

....but not if you live on Westbourne Road and have to put  up with this nonsense dumped out the back.

I've already alerted Streetscene twice to this. Now the weather has cleared there is no excuse not to get it shifted.

Thanks the the residents' concerned for sending me the snap.