https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/notorious-guided-busway-stretch-speed-15566425
"A reduced 30mph speed limit has come into force along a notorious stretch of Cambridgeshire's guidedbusway, three months after the death of a cyclist.
Steve Moir, 50, of Plantation Road, Sawston, was cycling along the Long Road stretch of the busway at about 4.50pm on September 13, when he was killed after being hit by a bus.
Cambridgeshire County Council announced this morning (December 18) that the speed limit of the buses will be reduced from 52mph to 30mph on the stretch of the city bound track from the Hills Road bridge, for a distance of around 875 metres, towards Long Road Bridge.
The safety measure follows increasing pressure on the council to take action."
This danger-point has been complained about since before the busway was opened in 2011 - wonder why it's taken so long?
Three things to say about this:
ReplyDelete1. The County has acted without awaiting the conclusions of the HSE investigation. Presumably, nothing that they're doing right now is irreversible (one hopes not, at least). If the HSE were to recommend a fence, for example, then a speed limit is unnecessary.
2. There's no need whatsoever for a speed limit on the outbound lane, as there's no footpath etc adjacent to that side of the Busway. The chances of anyone falling across the inbound lane onto the outbound are too extreme to warrant such a speed limit.
3. This is (I think) the fourth speed to have been imposed after an incident (Hills Rd bridge; Histon; Fen Drayton). Did a Risk Assessment not pick up any of these? And if it didn't, what does that say about the thoroughness of the Assessment?
About 2 weeks ago I noticed a bus I was on slow down to about 30mph over the top of the St. Ives viaduct - passing several pedestrians. This is another place where the footpath/cycleway is narrower and adjacent to the track.
ReplyDeleteThere are no signs instructing drivers to do so (yet?).
Anybody else noticed the same - or indeed at any other places where the path is adjacent to the track?