TMS Consultancy

Tower Road South, Birkenhead, Merseyside – Public Realm scheme

Tower Road South, Birkenhead, Merseyside – Public realm scheme

Introduction

The public realm scheme, which is located on Tower South Road, Birkenhead was completed in March 2021. The works were commissioned by a leading consultancy in transport planning, infrastructure design and flood risk. We were involved with all stages of the Road Safety Audit process to ensure proper safety procedures were undertaken throughout. A key objective of the scheme was to improve the environment for all road users, with wider high-quality pavements for pedestrians and cyclists, narrower carriageways to reduce traffic speeds, new crossing points to link existing and future developments at Wirral Waters and the surrounding areas. The scheme aimed to influence driver behaviour, which included reducing speeds but also providing awareness of a change in environment, with road safety in mind. The scheme had to have a clear perception of safety whilst maintaining the attractiveness of the area for students, employees, and visitors.

Assessments

The public realm scheme is a hybrid style with separated footway/cycleway but with minimal signage and direction. Innovative and striking features including an imprinted ‘roundel design’ to replace the existing signalised junction, (this feature is the equivalent to an informal roundabout). Red and white ‘chevron’ footways were another unique feature. With the removal of conventional features such as signal control and standard footways, this can add an element of uncertainty and caution for users. Although this can be a positive for road safety improvements, if this is executed correctly.

 

Newly built roundabout and a small bridge that goes over a river.

 

Final Thoughts

Lee Williams, who was one of the auditors for the scheme, stated that “this was a good example of auditing a scheme with new and innovative elements, whilst keeping an open mind, but still ensuring good execution and road safety”. The audit process was followed from start to finish and as a result, safety improvements were made to the scheme following our recommendations.

The scheme has recently been featured in the local press and has been nominated for an award:

“We’re thrilled that the Tower Road Streetscape, our project to create a safe and attractive thoroughfare in #WirralWaters, has been shortlisted for the Liverpool Sub-regional Project of the Year in the NW Regional Construction Awards!”

Link: twitter.com/WirralWaters/status/1443535773077327873

Road Safety Audits

Road Safety Audits on the Strategic Road Network (SRN)

Road Safety Audits on the Strategic Road Network (SRN)

During 2020, TMS has carried out numerous Road Safety Audits on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). TMS Engineers have a vast experience of auditing major road schemes across the UK and at various stages.

Birmingham road interchange, spaghetti junction.

Here is a quick summary of some of the audits we have carried out over the past year:

  • Preliminary Design Stage 1; A417 Missing Link, Gloucestershire. 5.8 km of new dual carriageway and grade separated junction, with new link roads and local road realignments
  • Preliminary Design Stage 1; A27 Lancing Improvement Scheme. Addition of fourth arm onto a new development roundabout
  • Preliminary Design Stage 1; A40 Penblewin to Redstone Cross Improvements, Wales. New relief road (2+1) with ghost island right turn lane junction and provision of NMU routes
  • Detailed Design Stage 2; A31 Ringwood Junction, Hampshire. Slip-road widening and alteration from taper merge to lain-gain onto A31 mainline
  • Detailed Design Stage 2; A27 East of Lewes NMU Route; 11.5 km of new NMU route along the A27(T) featuring footways, cycleways, and Toucan Crossings
  • Detailed Design Stage 2; M6 Junction 1 MOTO MSA. New service area with creation of “hamburger” roundabout, new traffic signals and amendments to slip-roads.
  • Post-Construction Stage 3; M5 Junction 12, Quedgeley, Gloucestershire. Slip-road widening and capacity improvements.
  • Post-Construction Stage 3; A45 Whitley Works, Coventry. New grade separated junction with link roads, roundabouts, signal junctions, toucan crossings and NMU routes.
  • Post-Construction Collision Monitoring Stage 4; M8, M73, M74 Motorway Improvement Scheme, Scotland. New motorway, improvements to interchanges, new all-purpose dual carriageway, new parallel link roads, improvements to existing motorways and provision of NMU routes.
Multiple vehicles driving down a newly constructed motorway that runs under a bridge.

If you require a Road Safety Audit on the SRN or on other major road schemes, please contact Lorna Styring on 024 7669 0900 or please email. We of course carry out audits on all other roads, no matter how big or small, so please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Road Safety Audits

Road Safety Audits: Review of 2019

Road Safety Audits: Review of 2019

2019 was an extremely busy year for TMS Engineers who have carried out over 730 road safety audits across the UK. So what type of schemes have been studied and which areas of the country have the team visited? Below is a quick summary:

  • New grade separated junction on A45 trunk road (Coventry and Warwickshire)
  • Proposed Motorway Service Area on M42 motorway (Solihull)
  • Proposed Motorway Service Area on M5 motorway (Somerset)
  • M42 motorway junction 9 roundabout and slip-road improvements (Birmingham)
  • M1 motorway junction 13 improvements at dumb-bell roundabout (Bedfordshire)
  • New 17.5km dual carriageway on A465 Heads of the Valley Route (South Wales)
  • New 5.8km dual carriageway along A417 with compact grade separated junctions (Gloucestershire)
  • A27 (T) pedestrian, cycle and equestrian improvements with Toucan, Puffin and Pegasus crossings (East Sussex)
  • Safe Routes to School and School Safety Zones with novel surfacing (Dorset)
  • Public Realm, Shared Space and Urban Landscape improvements (London, Staffordshire, Manchester, Devon)
  • Traffic Management and Traffic Calming Schemes (Bristol, London, West Midlands)
  • Commercial and Residential Development schemes – S38, S278, S111 Agreements with schemes ranging from roundabouts, traffic signal junctions, priority junctions, direct accesses, estate roads, pedestrian crossings and cycle routes (throughout the UK from Newcastle-upon-Tune to Devon and Isle of Man to Kent)
A motorway running through grass fields with a bridge that goes over the top of it.

If you require a road safety audit in any part of the UK and on any type of scheme, no matter how big or small (from a motorway upgrade to a single residential access), please contact Lorna Styring or call the office on 024 7669 0900.

Road Safety Audits

A look back at 2019

A look back at 2019

TMS have had a very busy year across all sides of the business.  We have carried out an extremely high number of Road Safety Audits during 2019; with over 750 audits carried out for clients all over the UK.  There has also been a noticeable upturn in road safety audits carried out on major highway schemes on the trunk and motorway network for Highways England, Welsh Government, Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and Transport Scotland.

During 2019 we also experienced an upturn in our consultancy project work, with the Technical Team involved in a variety of road safety engineering schemes such as Road Safety Risk Assessments, Safety Assessments and Workplace Transport Risk Assessments for the following:

  • Karro Food Group – Workplace Transport Risk Assessment
  • ASDA, Stockport – Safety Assessment of Pedestrian Traffic Conflicts
  • Navigator Terminals Thames, Grays, Essex – Safety Assessment of Pedestrian and Cycle Route
  • Royal Bolton Hospital – Workplace Transport Risk Assessment
  • West Suffolk Operational Hub – Safety Assessment of Footway Options
  • University of Warwick – Safety Assessment of Multi Storey Car Park and Temporary Closure of University Road

With regards to our training, we have run over 100 courses during the year, which consisted of our popular open courses in Coventry and London and also our in-house training.  Our trainers have travelled all over the UK ranging from the Midlands, North Ayrshire and Kent to deliver in-house training to our clients.  We have also delivered our road safety training courses in Dublin and Malta.

We anticipate 2020 being another busy year at TMS and look forward to seeing what the New Year brings.

Wishing all of our clients a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Road Safety AuditsTraining

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