Eastville Residents Protest Against M32 Death Trap

bristol | transport | news report Tuesday December 02, 2008 11:36 by Josh Hart velorution at yahoo dot com 07531134666

3 Elderly people killed by car within past year

Three elderly people have been killed, and one seriously injured by motor vehicles while crossing to Tesco from Eastville at Junction 2 of the M32 within the past 12 months. Local residents and safety campaigners have called upon the City Council and Highways Agency to stop the slaughter at Junction 2 by lowering the speed limit, installing a pedestrian crossing, and shutting the entrance to residential Stapleton Rd. to motor traffic from this junction.

Death by Design: Three People Dead and all the city council have done is put up a sign

Campaigners plan to keep up pressure on the Council and the Highways Agency. They are asking them to:

1. Immediately install warning signs for drivers using the roundabout to look out for people crossing

2. close off direct motor vehicle access from the Junction 2 roundabout to the beginning of Stapleton Rd. (the residential, one-way section that's currently a speedway and also severes a safe cycling route between the "Easton Bypass" and Eastville Park).

3. Lower the speed limit on the two lanes of the slip road and on the M32 within Bristol City Limits to 40mph. This will improve safety, encourage free flowing traffic, and reduce noise and air pollution impacts on adjacent residential communities.

4. Install a new signalised crossing over the slip road, coordinated with the other lights around the roundabout.

5. Install a 20mph speed limit within Bristol City limits. A pedestrian hit at under 20mph has a 5% chance of being killed. A pedestrian hit at 30mph or below has a 45% chance of being killed. Twenty is plenty where people live!

People are going to continue walking across from Eastville to Tesco because it is a desire line. The tunnels are considered by many to be more dangerous in terms of muggings, so people choose what they consider safest and most direct. And that is unfortunately across the (currently very dangerous) slip road. We need to make sure that is safe.

This is just one part of a high toll being suffered by Bristolians. Five hundred of us are killed or permanently crippled by motor vehicles every year. We have had more than our fair share in Easton lately, what with a man killed walking across Robertson Rd. last week as well. Yet this is consistent with the statistics- for every one child killed or injured on Clifton streets, roughly 25 Easton children are.....

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. Forward this e-mail to 3-5 friends or neighbours- have them e-mail velorution@yahoo.com in order to add them to the list and keep everyone informed about the campaign. Talk to your neighbours about it!

2. write an e-mail to MP Kerry McCarthy at mccarthyk@parliamen t.uk and to stephenwilliamsmp@parliament.uk asking them to direct the Highways Agency to undertake the above emergency safety improvements to the junction

3. Write to your local councillor- for Eastville this is steve.comer@bristol.gov.uk and muriel.cole@bristol.gov.uk Ask for the above improvements to be undertaken as a priority. Please cc mark.bradshaw@ bristol.gov. uk

4. Also, please write letters into the Evening Post. These must be under 200 words and sent to: epletters@bepp.co.uk

Evening Post coverage here:
http://www.thisisbr istol.co. uk/news/Safe- crossing- killer-Bristol- junction/ article-512710- detail/article. html