Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission research into improving pedestrian safety on pavements and to determine whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has no current plans to commission research into the issue of pedestrian’s safety on footways or to ascertain whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces.

Guidance is already available to highway authorities in respect to providing good and safe surfaces for pedestrians. The Department for Transport Manual for Streets – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf – also provides advice on footways and advises that surfaces used by pedestrians need to be smooth and free from trip hazards.

It is ultimately for each highway authority to decide on what materials they use for ensuring the best footway surface for the area for which they are responsible.

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