In Glasgow, when the M8 was smashed through well oriented network of local
streets, the designers decided that we wiould have walkways in the sky to take
us along the routes they deemed we wanted to go.
Today we have a good handful of bridges to nowhere which demonstrate
eloquently the damaging low frequency vibration which a raod like the M8 is delivering
to all surrounding structures - the grotesquely bent tails of unfinished
reinforcement visibly quiver with transmited vibration. Still unfinished 30 years
after the original act of muinicipal vandalism
At Charing Cross (Glasgow) the decaying concrete span over the entire
junction (next to the GMB Scottish HQ) and landing several yards up Renfrew Street is
hardly used, and as an urgent afterthought a pedestrian route at ground level
had to be showhorned in, and only last year (on the busiest pedestrian
crossing point in this part of Glasgow did a row of studs and a 'Pedestrians
Crossing' warning triangle go in (not NOT a proper pedestrian crossing) and motorists
still block the pedestrians from crossing as they queue at the junction.
Elsewhere the long winded route involving a stepped ramp, dingy 'underpass'
below the road viaduct and a set of steps to continue a route severed by the M8
- but the road (for motor traffic was connected by a dual carriageway
(viaduct) with high speed (why on earth they nned this for a 30mph limit) slip roads
conecting to/from the motorway. At least 50% of the pedestrioan traffic
crosses on to the central reserve and walks along the road dodging the cars toi get
back to the guardrailed kerb - in an interesting unspoken commentary on the
woirth of the pedestrian, a length of guardrailing demolished by a vehicle lay
blocking over half the footway for several weeks, and only when some of us
shoved it off the footway onto the carriageway (after all it had been demolished
by a motor vehicle) did the authority leap into action and clear the debris
within hours.
I suspect Glasgow's reputation for jay walking is a refection on the poor way
the city has dealt with the provision and design of pedestrian routes for
walking as a key mode of transport in the urban area.
Still that drifted a little from 'bridges' BUT it is relevant. Given that
every extra 50 metres walked adds about a minute to journey time and with such a
slow top speed, every minute stood waiting for a traffic light to change
causes the average speed to plummet and journey time to extend in a manner
proportionately greater than such deviations and delays to a motor vehicle journey
then the instinctive imperative for pedestrians making utility journeys is to
keep walking. Hence the benefit of returning to the well considered ideas of
Hoare Beliesha and the first version of the RTA and associated Highway Code in
the form of the Zebra Crossing the simple on-demand way to get pedestrians over
busy roads. A comment on the Glasgow situation also highlights part of the
problem in many authorities - the convenor of the Roads Department noting that
since it was costly to provide the structures for moving motor traffic around
and it was cheap to take advantage of the ability of the pedestrian to be sent
up down or under the pedestrian routes would always be afterthoughts, shoved
in at low cost after the road design was done - and it shows. I checked out
the time and effort to get from where I was staying on Southwark Bridge Road,
on foot to a well known noodle cafe at the Elephant by staying 'up top' intsead
of a complex series of underpasses and rather unsavoury places in the
'armpit' of the surrounding buildings. It was a lot quicker, and it could see where
I was going - only once did I actually have to jog across the road to get
between the cars, and depending on the time of day I'd reckon that I'd do it again
that way for speed and convenience. Additionally I had no perceived nuisance
factor of changing level, one reason why few people climb up to use bridges
over roads if they are already at ground level, and feel confident enogh to
cross the carriageway and climb over any safety guardrails of armco barrier.
If however your bridge is part of a direct and convenient step-free,
slope-free route (say directly from Leeds Station in to where people want to be) then
it will be a good idea. For Dave's reference, they may be such an opportunity
arising soon at Waterloo, as the entire block along York Road is about to be
sold on by Eurostar (LCR) and the 'flying' exit from Waterloo (Tenison Way?)
which crosses York Road on a little used bridge with steps down, might be
replaced (s.106?) with something on a better alignment which delivers some of the
high pedestrian flow between the South Bank and Waterloo Bridge and the Station
withoiut the need to continually stop the flow along York Road - but it will
only work if the connection is effectively made without major vertical or
horizontal diversion.
A further site could be Finsbury Park Ststion where use of redundant bridge
abutments and construction of an upper level access to the station at track
level could put a through walking and cycling route linking from Finsbury Park to
the new Arsenal stadium and parks/& paths to the South and cross 2 very busy
roads, avoiding the delay and diversion to use light controlled crossings
at-road level. the detail could work if a development at track level at the
ststion enlarged the concourse space (paid for by retail opportunities and other
development connected to the station) and and the South end connections were
made 'at grade' as far as possible.
Goodness - once I start punching the keyboard...
Dave Holladay
Glasgow
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