A plan to allow the installation of crossovers on busier roads could discourage walking, it has been claimed.
The proposal in the draft Manual for streets – due to replace the Design bulletin 32 on residential roads – to allow frontage access on to streets carrying up to 20,000 vehicles a day has been criticised by Living Streets, which is generally supportive of the document. Living Streets’ policy officer, Richard Hebditch, said: ‘The document states that residential access could safely be provided on more highly-trafficked roads. While the consultants’ research may suggest this would not lead to an increase in accidents, they need to consider the loss in amenity to pedestrians of being trapped between driveways on one side, and parking areas on the other.’
Currently, direct access was only allowed on roads with up to 300 vehicles per peak hour. However, the document also calls on local highway authorities to ensure that in future, the viewpoint of people passing along the street is in the provision of frontage access.
Workshops on the draft Manual for streets were held earlier this month as part of the consultation, which runs until 4 August. The draft has been criticised for making recommendations on the basis of inconclusive evidence (Surveyor, 22 June).
But Hebditch’s concerns that the document would not lead to dramatic change because it focuses on residential roads and new, rather than retrofit schemes, were assuaged following the events.