Leslie Bingham

Dear Mr Dorries Mr Leslie Bingham (deceased) Thank you for your letter and enclosed Regulation 28 report concerning the inquest into the death of Mr Leslie Bingham dated
2018. note from the report that you have concern, namely; MATTER OF CONCERN The evidence showed that there was a significant possibility that a pedestrian approaching the A61 Penistone Road from Owlerton Green adjacent to the Pizza Hut may be misled by a green light intended for pedestrians crossing Owlerton Green at the junction and thus miss a red light prohibiting them crossing the northbound lanes of Penistone Road. RESPONSE The investigators are aware of concerns raised by the jury relating to the layout of pedestrian crossing Puffin Nearside Signals (PNS) at this location when approaching the site on Owlerton Green to cross Penistone Road. The jury were concerned that pedestrians may be confused and misread which pedestrian signal is relevant to them The PNS at this location are 'Narrow Field of View' units (for Green Man display) , to overcome the possibility of misread at the crossing points. Their alignment was checked and were re-aligned installation in 2015 to minimise this problem. It was subsequently noted than when approaching the crossings from the tactile paving at the correct crossing positions opposite the island on Owlerton Green, there is no longer such potential for the PNS to be misread (see the photograph below). Large print versions of this letter are available by telephoning 0114 273 4201 16th July " the they post

2 This also applies to the situation when a pedestrian is standing on the island, as the green man signal is still not visible when walking between the crossing points. There is no history of any pedestrian collisions other than the fatality at this location in the three years since the changes were made (up to the end of April 2018) which would suggest that the signals are working safely when used correctly. Whilst there is not an issue with signal 'read-through' if pedestrians cross from the tactile paved area at the correct crossing point; the Council agrees with the findings of the Coroner and the jury that should an Eastbound pedestrian walking along Owlerton Green cross towards the corner of the island, away from the designated crossing point;, green man signal on the PNS could be misread. A photo showing the view from this point is shown below:

3 It should be noted that when a pedestrian is standing at the tactile paved area on the triangular island waiting to cross Penistone Road, the green signal (if currently displayed) on this PNS would no longer be visible to them, due to the narrow angle of view of the equipment: However; the PNS to their right which would be clearly visible to them, and from where traffic is approaching on Penistone Rd, would display a red man pedestrian signal (if Penistone Rd traffic currently has a green signal): It is possible that a pedestrian stood in a position such that had a view as shown in the photograph above could, upon seeing this green man signal, head straight towards the central reservation on Penistone Road and attempt to cross without looking towards oncoming traffic and the correct PNS, which would be showing a red signal for pedestrians_ There does not appear to be any scope to further re-align the PNS, without losing the benefit of this signal for pedestrians crossing Owlerton Green. Additionally, there is no scope to move the PNS to an alternative location. This is due to the small size of the island and the need to cater for blind and partially sighted pedestrians, who need to be able to find the PNS and push button below it on their right-hand side when standing on the tactile paving waiting to cross_ Whilst further alterations to the signals on the triangular island do not appear to be feasible, an effective alternative would be to deter pedestrians from cutting across the slip road in the wrong location and guide them to the designated crossing point: This can be done by providing_a length of barrier_rail around this corner of the_junction they ,

4 This should address the concerns expressed by the Coroner and the jury. An illustration of such a barrier arrangement is shown below: A length of guard rail sufficient enough to discourage pedestrians from walking around it on the carriageway side would be required. However; the inter-visibility between cyclists entering the carriageway from the off-road shared cyclewaylfootway and drivers turning left into Owlerton Green from Penistone Road also needs to be taken into account. Leaving a small gap between the cycle give-way and the start of the barrier as shown above and making sure that the barrier rail is "Visirail" type thereby making it easier for cyclists and drivers to see through it; would in the opinion of Council officers address this whilst still being sufficient to discourage pedestrians from crossing at a potentially more hazardous location. It is anticipated that this new pedestrian barrier rail will be installed on site within 10 weeks of our response to this report.