Concern over the safety of shared-space schemes has been quashed by a consultant on the Department for Transport (DfT) guidance on the issue, who has stated that drivers ‘should take responsibility for their accidents’.
Questions had been raised by local authorities and councillors, after incidents involving children and disabled people on shared-space schemes in Southend, Gloucester, Blackpool and, most recently, Coventry.
Formal crossings, signage and new signalling has been recommended for a number of these schemes, including the Coventry scheme, where a council review last week suggested significant alterations to the streetscene following a fatality.
However, a consultant who assisted in the official guidance on shared space for the DfT, Ben Hamilton-Baillie, believes concerns are unjustified and that budget pressures, not the guidance, is the issue.
He told Surveyor: ‘I don’t think there is a broader issue [on safety and guidance]. If you look at the Blackpool and Southend schemes, they were both cut down in size at the end of the day, and the reality is that they are too small to make a real impact.
‘It is very difficult for local authorities to be aware of all the issues, and they have much to learn in what are already very challenging times.’
Mr Hamilton-Baillie said the Coventry scheme illustrated how there was always ‘a certain amount of politics’ involved in the application of shared space.
‘Inevitably, the process of setting up shared space can be messy, and there are local issues on every scheme.
‘It is worth noting that incidents happen on a daily basis on conventional signal-controlled crossings, but it’s those in usual circumstances, such as shared-space schemes, that make the news.’
A spokesperson for the DfT told Surveyor: ‘It is a local decision, and not one for central government, whether shared spaced principles are used, and it is up to individual councils to consider applying them’.
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