Residents take on the traffic on Firs Hill Road

Two roads in Pitsmoor – Firshill and Passhouses – will be part of a major new national scheme called “DIY streets”. The aim is to “help residents to re-design their own streets affordably, putting people at their heart, and making them safer and more attractive places to live.” It wants to “create an equality between people and cars that is decided by the residents themselves”. The Area Panel suggested Firshill and Passhouses Roads because the residents had recently petitioned for a change. The Council will put up half the funding, with the rest from Sustrans through grant funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. How did we get to this stage?

Calls for traffic calming

Earlier this year, a petition asking for traffic calming signed by virtually everyone on Firshill and Passhouses Roads was submitted to the Area Planning Board. The Area Panel was aware that traffic calming schemes are strictly considered, with the number of cars using the road, any recent injuries from road accidents and any information on traffic speeds all having a bearing. The local police team were of the view that it didn’t require any ‘engineering’ solutions – but more patrols. Likewise, although Highways staff could see the problems with traffic avoiding other humped streets (Abbeyfield Road), they weren’t convinced that Firshill and Passhouses were in more need than other streets in the city.

The Area Panel decided to try to get more information from residents that might support their case. About a third of residents replied. One said “Very often cars get into Passhouses Rd in a not advisable speed. They come down off Scott Rd and speed up into Passhouses Rd without any care to the fact that someone could be crossing the road”. Another wrote, “A lot of young people drive up and down the road at high speeds. Sometimes they do ‘skids’ at the end of Firshill Rd”. Someone counted the number of cars and pedestrians on the street for an hour in the morning – 56 cars passed by the shop on the corner and 167 pedestrians! We asked what people thought was a solution – most said traffic humps, and more police patrols and cameras. A few suggested better street lighting, no informal selling of cars, improving the park, and closing the street by the shop.

Unfortunately, when the Planning Board considered the response to the petition in June, they decided not to support the petition due to more urgent priorities elsewhere in the city.

So what now?

Simple really – it’s now in the hands of everyone on Passhouses and Firshill Roads to decide, working with Sustrans and Council officers. We’ll keep you informed.