NOBODY wants accidents in Holbein Place or anywhere else in the borough and the council is constantly reviewing ways of making its streets safer.
Over the years we have had some success in Kensington and Chelsea in getting our accident figures down, but, of course, we want to achieve a situation in which no one at all dies or is injured on our roads.
I don't see how we will ever get there if we turn our backs on all change. Several experts firmly believe this type of improvement could yield real safety benefits and we monitor all our changes to crossings to ensure that they are achieving this. The alterations we have introduced at Holbein Place are intended to make the junction safer, more attractive and better able to handle the numbers of pedestrians who use it.
Many older people and those with disabilities find a single surface rather than kerbs and inclines easier to manage. We will continue to monitor Holbein Place very closely and will act decisively to introduce further changes if these hoped for benefits do not materialise.
I'm afraid that accidents also occur where drivers fail to stop at red lights or when pedestrians cross against flowing traffic. Unfortunately, no system involving cars and pedestrians is completely risk-free.
Cllr Nick Paget-Brown Cabinet Member for Transportation
