FENCES installed at the approaches to a busy Bournemouth roundabout are doing their job in improving road safety, a senior councillor has claimed.
BCP Council placed 'green walls' in the middle of Castle Lane East and Castle Lane West at their junction with the Cooper Dean roundabout.
The Castle Lane West visibility screen was recently replaced having been trashed by last month's storms, however, it is currently lacking the ivy that completely blocks the view across the road on the other side of the roundabout.
The fencing is designed to restrict drivers' views of traffic on the roundabout in an attempt to reduce the number of crashes.
In the past, the effectiveness of such measures has been questioned, including by a council-commissioned transport assessment.
However, Cllr Mike Greene, BCP Council portfolio holder for sustainability and transport, said they were making a difference, despite relatively small incident levels in the data.
Cllr Greene said: “The fence is known as a visibility screen, and these are known to help reduce road traffic collisions at junctions. The fences are designed so ivy can grow up to soften their appearance and create a living screen.
“During the five years before it was installed at Castle Lane there were twelve collisions which resulted in casualties.
"In the five years since, there have only been six, so it looks like it is working."
A section of the ivy-covered screen in Castle Lane East was already collapsing before it was ruined when storms hit the south coast in recent weeks.
Council engineers replaced the metal wire and post structure with a different design of fence and the ivy has been replaced.
The first green wall cost £17,000 to install but Cllr Greene said the recently installed one was significantly less expensive.
“The all-in average cost of a casualty collision to the tax payer is approximately £80,000, while the cost to replace the screen after its recent storm damage was £2,800," said Cllr Greene.
"So it looks like this is providing very good value for money as well as reducing the human cost of injuries. I understand that the contractor is currently waiting for the concrete to set on the posts before adding the ivy."
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