Fears ‘worst accidents yet to come’ after cars crash into Rhubarb Bridge barriers

Campaigners have claimed that the railings have been hit at least five times recently, prompting fears that “the worst accidents are yet to come” when the crossings finally open.

Concerns over recent changes to the layout by the popular foot and cycle bridge have been voiced for the past few years ever since Peterborough City Council revealed it was planning to introduce pedestrian crossings on the slip roads at the busy A47/A15 junction, near Brotherhood Shopping Park.

The concerns have been fuelled by safety audits from contractors Skanska which stated that bringing in the crossings could see multiple collisions every year, including ones which may be serious or fatal.

Skanska, which is the council’s official highways partner, has “strongly” urged the authority not to progress with the crossings but to instead focus only on repairing Rhubarb Bridge.

However, the concerns were dismissed by the council which insisted that the overall scheme - which included adding in an extra lane of traffic at the roundabout - is safe.

The authority has also suggested that the contractors were ‘confused’ by what the finished scheme would look like when compiling its assessment, that pedestrians and cyclists felt ‘intimidated’ by using Rhubarb Bridge due to previous incidents of serious crime at the location, and that it was not accessible for vulnerable residents.

Initially the £5.5 million scheme - which received £3.85 million of funding from the Department for Transport - envisaged the bridge being knocked down as it was described as being ‘at the end of its life’ and would allegedly cost up to £30 million to replace.

The authority later did a U-turn after a new assessment revealed that Rhubarb could be repaired at the same cost as being demolished.

Commenting on the recent crashes at the railings, a spokesperson for the Save Rhubarb Bridge campaign said: “When this roundabout was first designed over 40 years ago the planners knew that it was too dangerous to mix pedestrians, cyclists and motorised vehicles – so they built Rhubarb Bridge. Yet here we are in 2020, with traffic levels unimaginably higher than when the bridge was first built, and we are adding pedestrian crossings.

“Even before these dangerous crossings are open there have been at least five accidents alongside the new footpaths and the council are having to make further changes to the barriers so they’re safer to use.

“We are extremely worried and fear the worst accidents are yet to come. We call on the council to keep these crossings permanently closed.”

The original railings at the junction have recently been replaced, although the crossings are yet to open.

A council spokesperson said: “The original high visibility guard railings, which met all current guidance performance standards, were replaced on recommendation from the recent Stage 1/2 Road Safety Audit.

“The new ‘Visirail’ panels incorporate diagonally orientated vertical bars which improve visibility for motorists. They are designed so that approaching motorists can better see pedestrians, particularly small children, behind the railings.

“We are aware of recent instances where the railings have been struck by vehicles. When the police collision data is published we should be in a better position to understand the precise circumstances of each collision and any contributory factors.”