Bolton Council and Transport for Greater Manchester have not undertaken analysis on how a decision to shorten a bus lane will help to improve road safety or impact bus times following a series of crashes, requests under freedom of information laws have found.
Bolton Council and Transport for Greater Manchester were both asked to provide The Bolton News with copies of analysis it had taken in regard to the decision to shorten a bus lane on St Helens Road, following a series of crashes in the area.
However, both organisations said they did not hold the information, with Bolton Council saying that “no such analysis was carried out and therefore the information is not held.”
Bolton Council also confirmed it will install a 4G-connected automatic numberplate recognition ‘Lightning 5X’ traffic camera for enforcement on the road.
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Additionally, no minutes were taken at any meetings in relation to the decision – with Bolton Council saying only “verbal actions” were taken.
When asked if any analysis had been undertaken to analyse the impact of the bus lane shortening on Greater Manchester’s ‘streets for all’ scorecard, which scores streets for their public transport, walking, and cycling accessibility, the council also confirmed this had not been undertaken.
There was just one piece of correspondence between Bolton Council and Transport for Greater Manchester about the proposed change – with a Bolton Council employee asking for feedback on the proposed changes via email to a Transport for Greater Manchester on Wednesday, May 29.
This was about one month before a crash on Saturday, June 22, which left ‘loving wife’ and grandmother Karen Kimblin dead.
Hundreds have subsequently signed a petition calling for the area to be made safe for ‘drivers and pedestrians’.
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A response came nearly two months after the initial email, on Thursday, July 18, with a Transport for Greater Manchester employee commenting: “Albeit not ideal for buses, we can see the problem and would accept the slight reduction in the length of the bus lane to assist all road users.”
However, no documentation exists which explains how this change would assist all road users.
A day later, on July 19, a Bolton Council employee responds that they “will digest and get back to you on this.”
Just three days later, on July 22, another crash occurred around the location – after Greater Manchester Police chased a suspected stolen vehicle.
According to Greater Manchester's own ‘Streets for All’ strategy, which aims to set out an approach to designing the city-regions roads, road space should be reallocated, and bus lanes should be used to give buses priority and increase punctuality.
TfGM says the document “is an essential tool in achieving our vision for streets.”
Councils can score their streets on this guidance using a supplied ‘design check’ tool – which gives lower scores to streets without bus priority measures, such as bus lanes.
However, Bolton Council admitted this had not been done.
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “The proposal to shorten the bus lane on St Helens Road was determined following a recent review of all bus lanes within the borough.
“The process to legally amend the length of the lane requires a change to the present Traffic Regulation Order and this process will provide opportunities for further discussions and for people to raise any concerns.”
Transport for Greater Manchester and active travel commissioner Dame Sarah Storey's office referred the Bolton News to Bolton Council for comment.
According to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s ‘Vision Zero Strategy’, the city region is committed to try to eliminate ‘all road fatalities and life changing injuries’ by 2040.
The strategy says a ‘safe system’ approach should be taken to create safer roads and reduce the impact of any mistakes made by any road user.
According to the strategy, the risk of being killed is almost five times higher if a pedestrian is hit at 30mph compared to 20mph.
If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.
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