Update: after concerns raised to us about the mini-roundabout at Throstle Lane/ Middleton Park Avenue junction, we asked a council officer to take a look.
Response:
“Dear Councillor Dixon,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the mini-roundabout junction of Middleton Park Avenue and Throstle Lane.
A scheme to upgrade a number of the junctions on Middleton Park Avenue was implemented in 2016 due to a section of the road being identified as a ‘length of concern’. A number of collisions resulting in personal injury had been reported at the junctions with Middleton Park Mount, Middleton Park Grove and Acre Road. Many of the collisions had been potentially caused by drivers not giving way at the then mini roundabout junctions.At the time, there were no collisions resulting in personal injury reported to the police at the junction of Middleton Park Avenue and Throstle Lane and therefore it was not deemed necessary to upgrade this particular junction. The three other junctions were upgraded to replace the mini roundabouts with raised junction plateaus, giving priority to vehicles on Middleton Park Avenue but the plateaus traffic calming effect reduces vehicle approach speeds to help reduce the number and severity of collisions.
According to collision data currently available to me there have been three collisions resulting in personal injury reported to the police at the junction with Throstle Lane. The latest collision may have not yet been reported to us by the police or may not have resulted in personal injury. One of the three reported collisions resulted in serious injury to an elderly bus passenger due to the driver of a car driving aggressively, too close to the car in front of them and making a poorly judged right turn at the junction in front of the bus. The other two collisions resulted in a slight injury to a cyclist who entered the road from the pavement, colliding with a car, and slight injury to the driver and passenger of a car that collided with another car that was turning right at the junction. The last of these collisions occurred in October 2021 and was potentially caused by a failure of a driver to give way at the junction.
As much as these collisions are concerning, they are generally caused by driver/rider behaviour that is difficult to mitigate against by traffic engineering means. I do not have a report for the latest collision so I cannot comment in regard to how this may have been caused, but having reviewed the location the existing illuminated signs and road markings clearly indicate the presence of the roundabout on each approach to it and it is difficult to see how this could be made clearer.Signs to advise of a mini-roundabout ahead would only be installed as a temporary measure if the roundabout was a new road layout. Drivers are expected to take proper care and attention when driving up to and through a junction regardless of the layout, nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the junction of Middleton Park Avenue and Throstle Lane.”
Kind regards.
