The Julian Road Campaign

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:05:52 +0100

The Julian Road Campaign
Improving the Pedestrian Experience
Introduction
Julian Road and its extension Crescent Lane, join at the apex of the triangle known as St Andrew's Green to form an historical axis that uniquely connects a community of several of Bath's Georgian residential streets, squares and crescents. In addition the area contains social housing, two shopping areas, a primary school and three churches. The streetscape and Public Realm amenity of this axis, loosely referred to as "Julian Road", is critically important in preserving the connectivity and cohesion of this diverse community.

Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) recognises that Julian Road is one of the most dangerous roads in the city of Bath. Between 1998-2005 B&NES sources confirm that there have been 18 accidents (one fatal and one serious). In recent years the road has become part of an unofficial ring road and carries high volumes of traffic especially during the rush hour periods. Transport 2000 has described it as the least satisfactory road in the South West.

Before

Traditional engineering solutions have failed to moderate traffic speeds or provide local school children with safe routes to school. Without any pedestrian facilities, the road is difficult and dangerous to cross and consequently divides the community, effectively disconnecting the shops and residences north of Julian Road (such as St James's Square) with those to the south (such as The Royal Crescent) and the other historic zones of Bath, the UK's only World Heritage City.

The failed engineering solutions have left their mark and have impacted negatively on the Public Realm and now present a morass of ugly road signs, sections of unhelpful elevated pavements and a road layout and pavement alignment that discourages rather then encourages sensible driving behaviour. A solution to this problem emerged from a study commissioned by B&NES from Hamilton-Baillie Associates, a Bristol based transport, traffic and urban design consultancy practice. This recommended a modification of the road architecture and layout so as to convert the roadway into a "shared space"; and to use psychological design techniques to positively affect traffic behaviour. For further detail see Appendix 1 below.

The Vision

Parkside Community Safety Action Group (PCSAG), a community group concerned with safety related issues affecting the wider area, (covers approx. 1200 local adult stakeholders) agreed to campaign for the adoption of the "shared space" solution for Julian Road. A petition was raised and signatures, representing active support from over 60% of the homes in the area, were collected. During 2004 the B&NES Overview and Scrutiny Panel considered the scheme as part of its Public Realm review and strongly recommended its adoption.

In 2006 B&NES Transport and Highways department agreed to design and implement a first phase and to adopt some of the shared space ideas contained in the Hamilton-Baillie report. They have modified the roadway layout and the associated pavement areas in a small part of the roadway and this work was completed in July 2006.

Phase 1 Crescent Lane and Julian Road junction

Click on this link to see a copy of the full design for phase 1

Although street sign clutter has been reduced, Phase 1 still requires some additional modifications to achieve the desired effect on traffic speeds and to meet B&NES's own Streetscape Manual standards for design and materials. Improvements to Phase 1 are proposed by the campaign to be implemented in conjunction with a second Phase of the project focusing on the junction of Crescent Lane and Marlborough Buildings which has been agreed in principle for design and implementation over the next three years.

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Our Goals

To eliminate traffic accidents and improve the pedestrian experience along Julian Road.
To ensure a safe route to school for the children and parents walking or cycling to our local school.
To facilitate pedestrian crossing of Julian Road at multiple points along the roadway.
To enhance the streetscape and Public Realm associated with Julian Road for the benefit of the community

Our strategy

To persuade B&NES to continue to change the Julian Road architecture (road layout, surfacing materials, signage and design) in a series of unified phases which utilise the "shared space" approach as the means to reducing traffic speeds and encouraging drivers and pedestrians to engage in eye contact and agree priorities.
To act in partnership with B&NES, demonstrating community support for our goals, participating in and influencing design and facilitating private funding to supplement B&NES's budget for the project.
To educate our community (residents, school children, parents and local businesses) as to how most effectively to behave within the "shared space" area.
To encourage our community when driving and/or walking to engage with the space in an exemplary fashion and thereby affect the behaviour of visitors and transient traffic.
To communicate our Goals and Strategy within our community to ensure widespread understanding and support. (Community meetings, news letters, posters, website etc.)
To organise community-building activities to strengthen the sense of ownership over the areas involved.

Our Action plan

Professional Design Support: We need to enter into negotiation and discussion with B&NES Transport and Highways department. Our ability to influence outcomes depends on the quality and clarity of our presentation and the viability of our suggestions. We have therefore hired Paola Spivach (See Appendix 2) to undertake a preliminary design study for the project and to work closely with B&NES' Transport and Highways Department. Ms spivach is a highway architect working with Hamilton-Baillie Associates, the firm that undertook the original study of the traffic problem and recommended "shared space" as the solution. We identified three specific phases of work:

A design of the western gateway into scheme on Weston Road at the point that the Cotswold Way crosses the road.
Improvements to Phase 1 to include a narrowing of the road at the eastern gateway to slow traffic entering the area, additional dropped curbs and other design and materials enhancements, including a tree plan, to unify Phase 1 with Phase 2
Design for Phase 2. Materials and designs to be in accordance with best practice as advised in the B&NES Streetscape Manual (a collaboration of B&NES, English Heritage and Bath Preservation Trust). Tree plan to be unified with Phase One. In addition the development of the old petrol station site at the top of Marlborough Buildings needs to be coordinated so as to ensure an appropriate fit.

Costing and Funding Plan: We are working with B&NES in evaluating the cost implications of alternative designs and materials for the project, in the context of B&NES budgetary constraints. To the extent that acceptance of the most desireable design and material recommendations cause the total cost to exceed B&NES' willingness to fund the project, we will attempt to identify sources of supplemental funding. We have already secured a Community improvement grant towards the costs of the tree plan.

Broad Stakeholder Support: To ensure the full support of all stakeholders in the project we have engaged with and involved all relevant council departments (T&H, Parks, Parking, planning services. Public Realm, Overview and Scrutiny), local businesses, architects working on local construction projects and residents of the community. This requires us to maintain:

Appropriate membership of our campaign group to ensure representation from across the community.
An on-going programme of networking with local councillors, council officers and local businesses
Coordination with developers and architects of projects requiring interface with the Julian Road project
Quarterly news letters and information posters
Creation and maintenance of a campaign website.
DVD based training programmes:

We plan to produce together with the children of St Andrew's School the outline and script for a DVD. It will help them understand the ideas that lie behind the scheme and, crucially, how to safely use the shared Space zone as a pedestrian or as a cyclist.
The DVD will be produced with the help of Bath Spa University media and film department.
Paola Spivach will be engaged to support this work.

Fundraising: We are already actively raising funds to cover this campaign's expenses and overheads via donations from local businesses, residents, and from grants bodies. This involves involves researching grant sources, submitting applications, organising community fund raising events etc.

Monitoring: We will track progress and monitor outcomes.

The PCSAG will oversee the activities of the campaign and the Campaign Team will report progress at each PCSAG meeting.
We will with Paola Spivach's assistance work with B&NES to agree the definition of success and therefore determine what outcomes need to be monitored. If any changes or modifications are required post the completion of subsequent work phases we will campaign to ensure their timely implementation.

The Campaign Team

Justin Braithwaite
Campaign leader and resident of Marlborough Buildings with a background in project management.
Van DuBose
St James's Square Residents Association with a background in corporate finance.
Eva DuBose
St James's Square resident with background in banking.
Geoffrey Tantum
Chairman of St James's Square Residents Association with a background in consultancy.
Shelley Williams
Vice Chair of PCSAG and resident of Northampton Street with a background in film and DVD production.
Sally Jarman
Northampton Street Resident Association with a network of contacts in local businesses and heritage organisations.
David Jenkins
Local trader with Gallery in St. James's Street and a background in art and consultancy.
Joe Cussens
Owner of the Marlborough Tavern with a background in marketing and communication.
Anthony Pearson
Local Architect and resident of Northampton Street

Conclusions

The Julian Road Campaign calls for a constructive and informed engagement with our local Transport and Highways department so that together we can ensure that "shared space" principles are used to improve the pedestrian experience and the aesthetic amenity of the Julian Road zone. Correctly designed and implemented a "shared space" approach will directly address a key element of the Government's road safety strategy, namely the safety of vulnerable road users. Ultimately, our community needs to assume ownership of the "shared space" zone and therefore the development and refinement of professionally supported communication and education tools are important. By monitoring outcomes and ensuring their effectiveness, with respect to road safety, we will contribute to the growing interest in the innovative shared space concept and we will willingly share our experience with others so that lessons can be learned and used on a national rather than purely local basis.

August 2007

Latest Designs which have been agreed in principle with B&NES.

(Click on the above image to link to a bigger and clearer copy)

These plans will be the subject of a Public Consultation exercise commencing August 31st with a display of plans on St Andrew's Green from 13:00-19:00hrs. Our Architect Paola Spivach and B&NES engineers will also attend.
Possible Western Gateway into the Zone

Click on this link to see details of the ideas for the Cotswold Way crossing on Weston road.

Note: B&NES T&H engineers are opposed to these ideas and are intending to install a traditional zebra crossing at this point. However, we have secured their assuarance that this will be designed to also act to slow traffic at this point even when nobody is attempting to cross the road.
Appendix 1
Additional Background on "Shared Space"

In 2003 B&NES Safe Routes to School team commissioned a study from Hamilton-Baillie Associates, a Bristol based transport, traffic and urban design consultancy practice. They delivered a report in January 2004 recommending a new and imaginative approach to the problems of moderating traffic speed and improving road safety. The approach was based on principles that combine traffic engineering with urban design. Known as "shared space", the design principles are well established in many mainland European countries, having originated in The Netherlands. See http://www.shared-space.org/. They are also the subject of a DfT commissioned study by the TRL. See TRL report 641 "Psychological Traffic-Calming".

"Shared space" uses psychology to positively affect driver behaviour. Road signs and central white lines are removed. The usual distinctions between road and pavement are purposefully blurred. Different road textures and local paving send clear signals to drivers that the rules have changed. The result is that drivers can no longer assume that they have right of way and have to establish eye contact with pedestrians. Traffic movement self regulates to human speeds (less than 20 mph). Pedestrians learn that they can negotiate with drivers to cross the road wherever they need to. Traffic flows more smoothly and transit times through the zone are often actually improved. The other major benefit of all the de-cluttering and resurfacing is an enhanced Public Realm. English Heritage supports the ideas through its recent guidance on good street design (Streets for All) and the approach is compatible with the principles underpinning the Manual for Streets, a joint DfT/DCLG publication.

The approach has now been very successfully implemented in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Luxembourg. Recently the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Suffolk County Council have announced their intention to adopt these ideas in selected areas of London and Ipswich.

The proposed Julian Road Scheme was enthusiastically received by local councillors, St Andrews School, by the four resident associations whose members live in the area and by the businesses affected by Julian Road. Parkside Community Safety Action Group (PCSAG), a community group concerned with safety related issues affecting the wider area agreed to champion the scheme on behalf of these interested stakeholders. PCSAG organised several meetings at which the scheme was presented and discussed. As a result, the Julian Road Campaign Team was formed of community volunteers to lead the effort to implement the scheme.

Appendix 2
Paola Spivach

Click on these links to pdf files which contain details of her CV and show some examples of the work she has undertaken

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