Security Personnel Placed by Gibbet Hill Road

Due to the two recent car accidents which occurred on to the new shared-space area of Gibbet Hill Road, security personnel have been employed to aid road safety.

The new road strip on Gibbet Hill Road is known as a “shared-space” road. It was implemented to connect the different buildings along the road for pedestrians, such as Costa, the piazza, Rootes Grocery Store and the Arts Centre.

Peter Dunn, director of press and policy, said that the local council “[supported] the expansion of the University as agreed in our 2006 Campus Masterplan.”

Security personnel are not employed to monitor road safety, but to “[help] pedestrians and drivers to use the new road layout” as well as enforcing waiting, stopping and parking rules.

When asked if a zebra crossing would be implemented, Dunn said that the University does not plan to change the road.

“The shared space operates as one long length crossing point, recognising the many points and angles at which pedestrians desire to cross that space joining the SU to the bus interchange, Costa to Arts Centre etc” he added.

Warwick students are still concerned about safety on the new road and believe that the University should signpost and mark the road appropriately.

Bhavya Dutt, a second-year Psychology student,said that the road should have been “properly marked as a road…or have actual pedestrian crossings”.

“Students just walk as if it’s a totally pedestrianised zone,” Dutt added.

Halimah Manan, a second-year History and Sociology student, agreed, saying that she used to cross to other buildings anywhere and anytime she needed to, and that she feels that the shared-space road concept is unnecessary and dangerous.

“There’s no sense of who should be going at any one time, there’s a bit of doubt every time I cross about whether or not I can cross… whether people like it or not, roads exist primarily for cars. So, the idea of ‘shared spaces’ is ridiculous, without proper markings to designate those places,” she said.

Zhuo Yuen Lim, a second-year PPE student, stressed that “there isn’t clear distinction between where the ‘pathway’ ends and where the ‘road’ starts – the road levels are pretty much the same which makes it hard to distinguish.

“Also, with such a wide road and few road markings, it’s hard to tell who has priority on that stretch of road. Should the students stop for the cars, or should the cars stop for the students?”

When asked about the University’s role in preventing future accidents, Lim added that “while it is the pedestrians and drivers’ responsibility to watch out for the other party along that road, I think the university can do more to minimize any potential risk of injuries and make it safer.”

The Boar was unable to gain information on the cost of employing security guards on the new road.