- Police and Crime Commissioner keeps promise to introduce community hub to deal with road safety issues
- Community road safety hub will operate as part of Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership (GRSP)
- “Highways and road safety are the big issues particularly in rural areas. I really am very excited about this”, says Nigel Moor, cabinet member responsible for road safety at Gloucestershire County Council
- Chief fire officer Stewart Edgar says, ““It will be central to the work of the partnership, making sure that when questions come in from the public they are dealt with timely and effectively”.
After 10 serious road accidents on their doorstep in a year, people in Salterley decided to take matters into their own hands.
It led to the Salterley Action Force to Enhance our Roads (SAFER) getting speed advisory signs on the side of Leckhampton Hill (formerly B4070), changes to the road camber and a big reduction in accidents. But co-ordinating the different organisations needed to achieve their goal was difficult.
Today, (Friday 28 Oct), a new community road safety hub is launched that would have speeded-up their campaign.
Coberley Parish Council chairman Duncan McGaw said, “I think the concept of a hub with all the information of all the incidents across the county in one place is a brilliant idea. It’s a one stop shop, almost like Ghostbusters, ‘who you gonna call?’
“As a parish council we know who to contact whether it’s the police, highways or whoever, but a lot of the public don’t. If you’ve got a hub, that’s where you go.
“If we can get it well known, respected and trusted, it would be brilliant and would have helped us tremendously”.
The Community Road Safety Hub will operate under the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership of Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), Gloucestershire Constabulary, Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service (GFRS) and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
It will be the first point of contact for the public to report any concerns about road safety in their local area and was one of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl’s election commitments.
Mr. Surl said, “It seemed common sense to me to create one central hub to bring together the expertise of the police, engineers and the road safety experts to provide a better, more efficient way of resolving the problems encountered in our towns and villages.
“To enjoy our roads, they must be safe and they must be sociable – a place we can enjoy whether it’s for business or for pleasure and I hope the hub will enable us to build up our network in Gloucestershire and make our roads better as we pay a lot for them.
“I think it’s absolutely essential the public have a voice, so they can see what I’m doing and what the councillors and the engineers are doing. This is a good way for everyone to get involved in our roads to make them what we want and not just an anti-social place to go from A to B”
Cllr Nigel Moor, cabinet member responsible for road safety at Gloucestershire County Council, said:“I think it’s a great idea because it brings everything together in one place. It will be information that is up-to-date and consistent that you can share with people.
“Highways and road safety are the big issues particularly in rural areas. I really am very excited about it. I think it’s a great idea and it’s good to see Gloucestershire taking a lead on this”.
GFRS Chief Officer Stewart Edgar said, “Partnership working is absolutely crucial. We’ve got a tremendous road safety partnership that is fully integrated into the county council, fire and rescue service, ambulance and police and the hub is a crucial next step.
“It will be central to the work of the partnership, making sure that when questions come in from the public they are dealt with timely and effectively”.
The Hub will be in an addition to the existing services offered by the Road Safety Partnership and will go ‘live’ at 2 pm this afternoon. Local issues can be raised through the Road Safety Partnership’s website at http://roadsafety-gloucestershire.org.uk/communityhub/
