Do Public Realm Schemes Improve Safety?

Do Public Realm Schemes Improve Safety? It’s a simple question, but do we yet have an answer? There are plenty of statements claiming that they do, but the data to back this up is not so readily available. Some evidence has been published, for example, the Poynton scheme in Cheshire. Part of the difficulty in answering this question is that many Public Realm schemes have been implemented quite recently. Again on Poynton, the encouraging figures from the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) case study are necessarily qualified by the fact that it is quite new: “Although too early to draw full robust quantitative data on economic regeneration, road safety and pedestrian/cycle movements, the initial signs are very promising. There has been one minor personal injury accident in the first three years of Park Lane’s operation, and none in Fountain Place, compared to 4-7 serious incidents in each of the three years leading up to the project.”[1]. When one asks the same question of Local Safety Schemes, perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer is a lot less ambiguous. The Department of Transport’s Road Safety Research Report No. 108[2] (albeit from 2009) gives a clear overall summary. But, of course, Local Safety Schemes have been around a lot longer than Public Realm Schemes. It is also a matter of where one looks. The evidence from Poynton suggests that Public Realm Schemes do improve road safety, but there is no categorical “yes” or “no” answer to the question. It is quite possible that I have not looked in the right places, but the mere fact that the answer is not quickly apparent is indicative that a compelling case for the road safety benefits of Public Realm schemes is not being made. A few simple steps could be implemented: Compile a list of Public Realm Schemes, with completion dates and construction periods. Liaise with Local Highway Authorities to obtain ‘before’ and ‘after’ collision data for Public Realm Schemes which have been in place for three years or more. Review and report on the effect on road safety of Public Realm schemes. The above would not be difficult to undertake, with the main requirement being cooperation and communication between the relevant responsible organisations. There is a danger that the answer that comes back may not be the one that we all want to see, but that in itself would be valuable information. Perhaps now is the time to start doing so.