Transport / No timetable yet for introduction of new Lerwick traffic calming measures
Roads officers are working through responses to a public consultation, with some adjustments being made – but the final decision will rest with councillors
NEW traffic calming measures look unlikely to come to Lerwick’s roads anytime soon as council officials continue to work through responses to a public consultation.
A series of options for some roads went out to public consultation last year which included elements like speed cushions, zebra crossings and an extension of the 20mph limit.
It is fair to say some of the proposals, like speed cushions, did not prove too popular with people on social media.
The most advanced set of proposals are for Gilbertson Road and Bell’s Road, with a report set to go in front of councillors in due course for decision.
Colin Gair, Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) asset and network management team leader within the roads service, said proposals for other areas such as King Harald Street will then follow.
He said there have been some amendments made to initial proposals, although generally the plans remain similar.
Gair said since the consultation deadline passed in October the team has been working through the objections, seeking to resolve or answer them, or to amend the proposals to remove concerns – where possible.
Perhaps the most significant change to the initial proposals is the removal of a pair of speed cushions – like the ones on Church Road for example – at the south end of Gilbertson Road near Bell’s Brae School.
Gair said this would not have fit with driveways, but added that a nearby flat-topped hump and “build-out” is going forward as proposed.
He said there were no real objections to the zebra crossing proposed near to the junction with Hayfield Lane.
Gair added that, following dialogue with some residents, another zebra crossing proposed near Anderson Road has been modified slightly.
He also said the speed cushions at the north end of Gilbertson Road will be promoted as proposed, while there were no comments or objections about plans for a raised junction area on Bell’s Road.
A report on these proposals, which would include the public’s views, was due to go in front of councillors last month but has been delayed a result of new committee procedures.
Gair added that council staff are still to finalise plans for a zebra crossing near to Montfield Lane, taking into account residents’ comments.
He said the crossing proposed at the St Sunniva St/King Haakon St junctions is “pretty much as was proposed”, while there were not really any comments about speed cushions on the south end of Burgh Road.
Among the proposals on King Harald Street are a flat-topped hump with a zebra crossing just south of the King Haakon Street junction, and raised table junction area with zebra crossings at the King Erik Street junction.
Gair said there are no “major changes” in mind for King Harald Street compared to the initial proposals.
He said there could end up being amendments made to proposals for South Road, which include flat-topped humps as well as new speed cushions on Scalloway Road.
Only two objections were received in relation to a 20mph limit being extended to King Harald Street and South Road, but Gair said these were more related to the general premise rather than the specific proposals.
He said there is no “fixed timetable” for when further reports will go in front of councillors, but added that feedback from elected members on the Gilberston Road proposals may change the team’s approach to other areas.
“It’s an evolving thing, we’ll just take it a step at a time,” Gair said, reiterating that it will be councillors who will have the final say.
Despite the relatively significant disapproval shown on social media against the idea of more speed humps, Gair said the public consultation was “exactly what it was meant to be”.
“I don’t see the point in a public consultation if you’re not listening to them [the public],” he said, although in some instances it is a case of seeing if the positives outweigh the negatives.
The recent extension of a 20mph limit to more residential areas of Lerwick, as well as Scalloway, went through without the need for councillors’ approval because there were no objections.
Shetland Islands Council previously said the proposed new traffic calming measures are “necessary to help maintain suitable vehicle speeds” while in some cases they would “provide safe and convenient crossing points for pedestrians”.
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