Notes from meeting with Sean Traynor on 27 November 2017



The meeting followed a joint letter from several voluntary groups to Jane Kennedy and Steve Rotheram with concerns that the regional road safety strategy will not achieve its target reduction in casualties - see www.wacm.org.uk/19.html.

Present

  • Sean Traynor (ST), Head of Highways and Transportation, Knowsley Council; and Vice Chair, Merseyside Road Safety Partnership
  • Rebecca Power(RP), Coordinator, Merseyside Road Safety Partnership
  • Emma Clements, Observer
  • Ian Campbell (IC), Secretary, Wirral Pedestrians Association
  • Derek Gould (DG), Chair, Cycling UK Merseyside
  • (apologies from Victoria Doran, Treasurer, Wirral Pedestrians Association)

There was agreement that

  • The region needs to do more on road safety
  • The numbers of casualties are not acceptable
  • The ultimate vision should be one of zero deaths and serious injuries
  • No single organisation has all the answers and a partnership approach is needed, with all constructive contributions welcomed
  • Enforcement of speed limits reduces casualties, and its unpopularity with some drivers should not prevent its use
  • There should be a continuing constructive dialogue between all interested parties.

Recent developments

From ST:
  • An A & E consultant at Aintree Hospital is keen to set up a foundation to reduce road casualties (and other forms of trauma including knife crime and falls)
  • A Liverpool academic department is interested in helping to answer road safety questions via student projects - questions can be submitted
  • An Implementation Plan for the Local Journeys Strategy is scheduled for development early in 2018
  • Agreements are being drawn up for the Combined Authority to take over the Key Route Network (roughly the key 10% roads in the region) - perhaps from 2020
  • Transport for the North will be consulting soon on a transport strategy for up until 2050
  • Provisional figures for 2017 are showing a considerable fall in Merseyside reported road casualties for the period January to October.

From IC / DG:
  • Jane Kennedy is considering asking for speeding and other fines to be hypothecated (i.e. routed to police forces to fund further enforcement) via the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners
  • IC shared road casualty figures showing that Merseyside still has the worst rate of reported pedestrian serious injuries (see www.wacm.org.uk/30.html), and is also worst for serious child cyclist injuries with a rate five times that of London's (see www.wacm.org.uk/31.html). ST/RP agreed to consider this information.

Other points discussed included

  • Whether there should be formal consultation on future strategies
  • Whether future prosperity in the region (a) requires a continuing increase in motor vehicle mileage, or (b) can be achieved with reduced motor vehicle mileage, and much increased walking and cycling (as is planned for London)
  • Whether (a) we should accept that roads are dangerous, and children must be told to take responsibility for their own safety, or (b) we design roads according to Safe System principles where we accept that people make mistakes, and that a mistake by a road user should not lead to anyone's death or serious injury - as in the Dutch Sustainable Safety road system, and as in rail and air safety systems (resulting in zero rail and air passenger deaths for several years)
  • To what extent the fall in Merseyside child casualties over the last few decades is due to children walking less.

A consensus was not achieved on these points.


Next meeting

Monday 12 Feb. 2018 10:30am




Drafted by Ian Campbell; agreed by Sean Traynor 29 Nov 2017