The Municipal Roads Authority announced a tender for the reconstruction of the intersection of Powązkowska and Obrońców Tobruku streets. The changes were recommended by auditors who looked at the pedestrian crossings there. All of them received the lowest safety ratings.
Rebuilding intersections into roundabouts is one way to improve safety. Road workers have already made such changes and are announcing more – for example on Kadetów Street, at the intersection of Rudnickiego and Kochanowskiego Streets or at the aforementioned intersection of Powązkowska and Obrońców Tobruku. As the safety audit showed, the latter location is particularly dangerous.
New roundabout next year
The construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Powązkowska and Obrońców Tobruku streets on the border of Bemowo and Bielany has been announced by ZDM for some time now. “Now it's time to get down to specifics. We've just announced a tender for the reconstruction of the intersection,” he announced.
Officials are waiting for offers until September 13. Then they will look at them and choose the best one. The selected company will have a maximum of three months to carry out preparatory work and eight months for construction work. This means that the new roundabout should be ready next year.
A difficult intersection
Today, the “broken right of way” rule applies at the intersection of Powązkowska and Obrońców Tobruku streets. Practice shows that not all drivers know how to use this type of solution. In addition, Powązkowska Street from the side of Waldorffa Street is a long, straight section of the road, conducive to developing high speeds. “The straight section of Powązkowska Street suggests to the driver that they are on a street with priority of passage, while in fact they are on a subordinate entry and approach a road with priority of passage. There are three pedestrian crossings designated at this point – in addition, the T-27 sign placed there means that zebra crossings are particularly popular with children,” the road workers note.
In their opinion, the situation is not improved by vehicles parked right next to the crossing, including heavy goods vehicles. They cover the signs informing about the approaching intersection and limit visibility, which creates a serious hazard. The risk of such parking right next to the crossing applies to both sides of the street. Visibility is also limited by the fence of the property on Powązkowska Street on the corner of Obrońców Tobruku and the vegetation growing by the fence. “A pedestrian wishing to cross the road is blocked on one side by parked vehicles, and on the other by vegetation and the fence. The driver may not notice the crossing and the pedestrian entering the crossing from behind the parked vehicles. In addition, in the middle of the pavement, in the light of the crossing, there is an electricity pole, which is an obstacle for pedestrians,” assesses ZDM.
All three crossings were checked as part of an audit of unsignalized pedestrian crossings conducted between 2016 and 2020. However, the results were not encouraging. Both crossings on Powązkowska Street were given a score of “1” on a five-point scale (0-5). In turn, the crossing on Obrońców Tobruku Street was rated “0”. “This situation is unacceptable and must be changed urgently. Therefore, knowing the results of the audit, in 2020 we announced a tender for the design of this and several other roundabouts,” officials assure.
What will change?
According to the recommendations of the audit, a roundabout will be built here. Parking right next to the crossings will also be prohibited. Road workers also want to move the crossings closer to the intersection shield, change the location of the exit to the property located on the side of Maczka Street and move the electricity pole beyond the crossing light.
The changes will be possible thanks to additional funds granted by the Warsaw Council. “Thanks to this, we were now able to announce a tender for construction works based on the previously prepared reconstruction project,” assures ZDM.
Main image source: ZDM