Stoke Golding Parish Council say No to 20mph limits

In the same month that saw high profile commitments to 20 mph in the City of London and our second city Birmingham, Stoke Golding Parish Council unanimously reject 20 mph limits.

In a newsletter to residents they stated:
"The Parish Council discussed again the issue of a 20MPH speed limit and confirms that in their unanimous opinion that whilst safe streets are a priority and desirable, it would be misleading/pointless to give their opinion on a 20MPH zone when the present austerity cuts at County render it undeliverable, coupled with a lack of enforcement by police”. This comes after protracted discussions with the Parish Council following a significant random survey of the village in late 2012. With 76% of respondents identifying speed as an issue and 67% supporting a village wide 20mph speed limit (only 22% opposed), we not unreasonably expected the Parish Council to support the majority view.

We had always anticipated problems with a Local Authority that is short of cash and which has failed to revise its speed limit strategy following new government guidance on speed limits issued earlier this year. We have looked at the historic accident data for Stoke Golding and the forecast savings from speed reductions should pay the modest amount for a 20 mph sign only scheme within a year. We also recognise that enforcement is a challenge which is why we are pleased that the Association of Chief Police Officers earlier this month updated its guidance on enforcement of speed limits. This sees the enforcement of 20 mph limits taken much more seriously with tougher penalties for those who wilfully offend.

The change to 20 mph limits where people live is a movement, and it will take time to normalise this behaviour. It is not anti motorist - it actually has minimal impact on journey times. It is about a more equitable sharing of the public space where people live, socialise and travel. Towns and cities are getting the message in a big way with local authorities covering more than 11 million residents having now committed to 20 mph limits. Over the last several months there have been significant announcements of widespread implementation in Birmingham, London (City and many boroughs), Oxford, Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester and Brighton, to name but a few. These will join pioneering cities such as Portsmouth, Bristol and Hull who are now reaping the benefits in terms of lower accidents rates and increased walking and cycling. One day people will look back and say "surely we didn't used to let cars travel at 30 mph were people live" in the same way that we now say "surely we didn't used to let people smoke in public places".

So nationally the picture is very upbeat and we are quite convinced that the implementation of 20 mph limits is no longer "IF" but "WHEN". 

We have talked to several other villages around the country and a 3 to 5 year campaign is not uncommon, but success has been achieved. We are therefore planning to join forces with other like minded groups in Leicestershire to try and influence county policy and consider how best to continue locally.

 

Now you see it, now you don't

now you see it

now you don't

Station Road in Stoke Golding is within the Conservation Area established in 2004. The view down Station Road past the old factory is noted as a "view to be protected". Unfortunately this view is has been spoilt by a rather ugly chicane. I don't think its the chicane that the problem rather its the signage which is rather over the top and shouts "highway" rather than "street". I would like to see a design which is more in keeping with the character of the conservation area. Maybe a nice planter perhaps with some reflectors. I have airbrushed out the signage on the second photo - doesn't it look better?

A review of the conservation area is ongoing. I have discussed the chicane with the council conservation area Barry Whirrity who has taken some photos and says he will talk with Highways.

Barwell SUE update

The Barwell SUE has been granted outline planning permission which included access and highway arrangements. Part of the submission was a late analysis by Highways which predicted data flows through the village using their LLITM model.

Unfortunately their report did not contain readable traffic flow volumes so I subsequently asked for this information which they supplied in tabular form. I superimposed this data onto a local map (see below) together with the actual flows (in green) that we recorded when we audited traffic in the village in February 2013. There are two sets of predicted data flows from the LLITM model
"with mitigation" this means the (yet unspecified) changes to the main road network. i.e. the Rouges Lane, A47 and A5 junctions
"unmitigated" this means without changes to the main highway network

Highways conclusion is that there will be very little additional traffic along the rural network, hence they see no need to consider local rural mitigation. We have to first convince them that the model is wrong and / or convince them that there are not viable solutions to the Rogues Lane and A47 junctions.

There has subsequently been a meeting of the joint parish councils to discuss the issue of Barwell SUE traffic. At this meeting Ivan Ould (County Councillor) was tasked to talk to Highways. Ivan is currently trying to set up this meeting.

Stoke Golding Traffic Audit - Feb 2013

A very long time in posting, but way back in February the residents of Stoke Golding carried out an audit of traffic during the morning rush hour. The object of the exercise was to form a baseline of traffic flow volumes in and out of the village. It was felt this baseline would be useful in identifying changes in traffic patterns over time with the planned Barwell Sustainable extension very much in mind. The full report is here 

The diagram below is a useful summary showing the peak hourly traffic flows

As expected most of the traffic is entering along Hinckley Road with a peak flow of 220 vehicles per hour. 

In total there were 714 movements out and 466 movements in across the 2 hour monitoring period. This suggests there are just 248 local vehicles leaving the village which seems much lower than expected for 750 houses.

Stoke Golding casualty figures and cost

The government only records accident data where there are personal injuries. There are several sites that map this government accident data. You might like to try this one http://www.crashmap.co.uk/. This shows 14 minor and 1 severe injury over a 7 year period in Stoke Golding.  This is purely based on reported accidents involving injury. However the majority of slight injuries go unreported. The DfT say the true road toll for all casualties is 3.5 times recorded incidents. This adjustment is from comparing police and hospital data with the National Travel Survey’s collision involvement questionnaire. 

From my own experience there have been 4 accidents over the last 5 or 6 years just on the stretch of Station Road between Crown Hill Close and Higham Lane. Only one of these (thankfully it was not more) resulted in a recorded personal injury and is shown on the crashmap dataset. 

I have been looking into the costs associated with these injuries. Unfortunately the DfT appraisal tool does not contain a model specifically for 20 mph schemes in villages (just towns). However it does quote an average cost associated with injuries. These costs say a serious injury costs £206,791 and a slight injury £21,556. So this gives a total cost of injuries in Stoke Golding of £508,000 over 7 years (around £72,000 pa). A fatality (heaven forbid) costs £1,820,760 by the way.

If we were to reduce accidents by 50-60% which other schemes (town based I admit) have achieved there would be a financial saving of £36,000 pa. Assuming the implementation cost of 20 mph limits turned out to be £15,000, the scheme would pay back in under 6 months!! Conservatively I would hope to achieve a 20% reduction in accidents giving a payback of around a year. The DfT's own figures show that a 1 mph reduction in speed achieves a 5% decrease in casualties, so a 20% decrease only represents an average speed reduction of 4 mph which is very achievable. This is a fantastic cost benefit case before your even start thinking about the costs associated with the "hidden" accidents.

The benefits of course are not all about tangible costs. For me it is also very much about quality of life. Reduced traffic speeds lead to increased walking and cycling with consequential improvements in health and reductions in traffic volumes. The Stoke Golding survey very clearly showed that the vulnerable in particular live in fear of speeding traffic. This causes loss of freedoms and can also result in loss of cohesion in the community. I have seen articles which state that a 20 mph speed limit can make people more likely to maintain a friendly relationship with neighbours and local people.

Update from Parish Council Meeting

Barwell SUE

We presented the results of the traffic survey (see previous post) to the Parish Council at the January meeting and we discussed how we could move forward towards implementing a 20 mph limit. 

The Parish Council’s view was that the best route forward was to combine the 20 mph "requirement" with a consideration of the impacts of the Barwell SustainableUrban Extension (SUE) development. The Barwell SUE proposals will see 2,500 homes built on the south western edge of Barwell - a huge development. Because employment opportunities will not be developed until the final phase, there will be 2,500 households needing to go "somewhere" to work. The concern is that many of them will be heading our way using Stoke Golding as a "rat run". The Parish Council is planning to partner with the neighbouring parishes of Higham, Peckleton and Sutton Cheney to address this issue. The parish councils are now looking at the possibility of engaging a traffic consultant to help better understand the impacts and to propose how these impacts can be mitigated and managed. The Streets4All group will contribute to the terms of reference for this study and will be involved in the study and follow on work.

The Streets4All group agreed this is a sensible way forward based on the following considerations:
a) it is difficult to treat 20 mph limits in isolation of the Barwell SUE because of its major potential impact;
b) this is probably the best opportunity to find a source of funding for implementing change.

So this is not going to be quick (but it never was). But rest assured that we have heard loud and clear what the village has said and we will continue to work to make the streets of Stoke Golding safer and more liveable.

Streets4All Stoke Golding Traffic Survey Results

Thank you to everybody who recently took part of the Stoke Golding traffic perceptions survey. It has taken a while longer than we hoped to publish the results and because of the issue around the solar farm we have deferred meeting the Parish Council until 9th Jan 2013. We will report the outcome of this meeting in a future blog post. But on to the results of the survey ...

A random sample of Stoke Golding residents were asked whether they strongly agreed, agreed, were neutral , disagreed or strongly disagreed with the following statements:

1. I support the vision for Stoke Golding streets

2. Traffic volume is an issue within the village

3. Traffic speed is an issue within the village

4. I support the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit throughout the village

Our Vision

We have a vision of people friendly streets which are attractive and where young and old feel safe; where drivers behave responsibly and where people are happy to walk and cycle. We want our streets to be alive and vibrant where people can live and socialise.

We had a fantastic response. 150 households were surveyed and we achieved returns from 124 households (83% response rate) and 209 residents. Statistically this ensures that the results are representative of all residents plus or minus 5%. We would like to thank residents for taking the time to complete the survey and for both their written and verbal comments.

The results are compelling. The graph opposite shows the count of how residents responded to each statement. The standout is how strongly residents identified speed as an issue and supported both the vision and the introduction of 20 mph limits. There is still significant concern over traffic volume, but this is clearly considered a lesser issue than speed.

The counts were translated into agree, neutral and disagree percentages and are shown in the table below.

Statement	agree	neutral	disagree
1. Vision	77%	16%	7%
2. Volume	60%	19%	22%
3. Speed	76%	12%	12%
4. 20 mph	67%	11%	22%

So the residents of Stoke Golding have had their say and have told us loud and clear that speed is a significant issue and they want vehicles to drive more slowly, specifically at no more than 20 mph. We must respond to that mandate. Specifically we intend to push forward for the introduction of a village wide "sign only" 20 mph limit. The next step is to get the support of the Parish Council.

Watch this space for developments ...

Parish Council give their support for 20mph survey

We went along to the October Parish Council to discuss our plans to survey the village regarding support for 20 mph speed limits. We are pleased to say that we left with support for the process and an undertaking to take on board the views that are expressed by residents.

We are finalising the survey now. Our plan is to distribute these wc 29th October and collect responses door to door the 2 weeks commencing 5th November. So hopefully we will have results to publish towards the end of November 2012.

20s plenty campaign launched

Since presenting our vision at the Annual Parish Meeting way back in March we have been struggling to work out how to engage with more villagers and what we should tackle as a first step towards our vision.

We have decided to campaign for a blanket 20mph speed limit within the village. We believe that reducing traffic speeds is key to achieving our vision. In addition this is nothing new - there is ever increasing public and legislative support for 20mph speed limits in urban areas where people live. It remains to be seen if there will be the same levels of support within the village - more of this later.

We intend to join up with the national 20s Plenty For Us campaign as this will give us access to proven resources and expertise. There are now 150 campaigns across the country ranging from city wide initiatives to smaller villages like ourselves. We have already learnt a lot by talking to them. It you are interested I would recommend perusing their website. The "Why" and "20mph facts" pages are good starting points.

The case for 20mph limits is compelling. Lower accident rates and the consequences of accidents are less severe. Most children hit by a car at 20mph make a full recovery - sadly this is not the case at 30mph. As traffic speeds drop people feel more confident to walk and cycle and this in terms brings health benefits. With lower speeds, streets generally become a more pleasant environment to be in. Neighbours can stop and chat to each other without being drowned out by car noise. Children can get around with less parental supervision.

Recent surveys indicate that over 80% of people support 20mph limits (without humps) for residential roads so there is clear public support. Recent government guidance recommends local authorities consider implementing 20mph limits in urban areas where people live. To support this guidance, changes to legislation make 20mph limits simpler and cheaper to implement - a city wide implementation in Porstmouth cost just £333 per street.

We need to know how Stoke Golding residents feel about this. During October we will be conducting a survey of approx 120 households (about 15%). Hopefully we will get a positive response which will give necessary mandate to move the campaign forward and persuade Councillors and local authorities. We aim to publish the results towards the end of October.

We would love to get some more people involved. If you care enough please contact Alan White alanwhitesg@gmail.com

Convent Corner Design Approved

I understand that the detailed design for the proposed new junction at Convent Corner has now been approved. This has been discussed at length in earlier posts. So it would seem that despite concerns and representations from both St Martins School and the Parish Council only very limited changes have been made to the design.
I for one am very frustrated by the whole process and the failure of the local authority to properly listen to local concerns.

In particular I remain very concerned about sight lines from the proposed pedestrian crossing. I have asked the council for evidence that the crossing meets the relevant national standards. I will post again when I have a response.

Convent Corner Safety Audit

Well the safety audit has been carried out now and Mar City have tweaked the design but this I'm afraid has done little to allay concerns about safety. The key concern remains the proposed crossing which has poor visibility from the north side looking towards Dadlington.

Inexplicably the audit was not taken during morning on afternoon school start / end times and consequently reported "low vehicle flows / speeds (based upon the site visit)". Anybody who has visited at morning or evening rush hours knows this is anything but the case. Surely at least the safety auditors would have access to traffic flow information.

Some safety issues were identified in the report and in response Mar City are proposing the following modifications to the design:
1) There are now 'build outs'/ deflections incorporated into the roundabout. (this is just white paint on the road surface)
2) The roundabout is domed, to force deflection around the roundabout, which slows vehicles.
3) There is now a 'build out'/ tightened junction on the exit from the development, which will slow traffic exiting the site.(again this is just painted)
4) Beige anti-skid surfaces have been incorporated into the approaches.
5) Thermoplastic rumble strips have been incorporated, on the antiskid surface, approaching from Dadlington (this was not called for in the report)

The school have written to Highways expressing their ongoing concerns.

Convent Corner

"Convent Corner"

Local readers will know that Mar City have planning permission for 59 new homes on the old convent site behind Saint Martins school and indeed work has now started. The access arrangements for the new site are to the side of the school just off the road to Dadlington. This access arrangement creates many challenges because of the proximity to the school and also the proximity to the already dangerous T junction between Stoke Road / Hinckley Road - know locally at "Convent Corner". The access plans were approved at planning stage (I raised concerns to no avail). These plans included the provision of a new pedestrian crossing and a mini roundabout.

Convent Corner Proposal

The junction and crossing are less than ideal for many reasons:

• the poor visibility from the inside bend of the proposed pedestrian crossing towards Dadlington. Many school children cross here and speeding traffic is a known issue;
• the sweeping geometry and lack of deflection in the approaches to the mini roundabout which means cars car can travel through the junction at speed - a particular danger to two wheeled vehicles and users of the pedestrian crossing;
• the proximity of the crossing to the new site access and the mini roundabout.

In addition to safety aspects, the design treats the junction as a highway rather than as a residential street and an access to the village. A more imaginative and softer design could send messages to drivers that this is a "place", not a highway which evidence shows would introduce some natural calming.

Convent Corner with "tighter" geometry

Myself, the school and the Parish Council have been making representations to Mars City and Highways in an attempt to come up with an improved design which addresses the safety concerns and also also looks more pleasant. We have made suggestions to "tighten" the junction geometry (to slow cars) - see sketch to left.

We have also suggested the use of different textures / surfaces to create a streetscape more in keeping with a village. Look at before and after pictures of a street in Bath to understand what I mean.

Julian Road, Bath before and after

To me there is a lack of real design thought. It seems they have come up with the cheapest design possible and are not looking for the best solution.Whilst they are listening to us, we have not as yet achieved ANY changes.

The detailed design has now been submitted for Section 278 approval which is a legal agreement to undertake work on the highways. As part of the Section 278 approval an independent safety audit will be undertaken. This will assess the safety of the proposed design. We have made our safety concerns known to Highways and hope that we can achieve some safety improvements through this process.

Watch this space

Streets 4 All at the Annual Parish Meeting

Alan White presented his vision for Stoke Golding streets at the Annual Parish Meeting on 26th April 2012. Around 25 people listened to the presentation which was well received. There was a general consensus that there is a problem and good support for the vision. There was some discussion over what should and should not be done and some scepticism about the ability to get change implemented.
The notion of relocating the war memorial to the centre of the village was discussed. This would help create a sense of place and would be a visible demonstration that change is possible. This would help build momentum for the initiative.

Brian Ninness and Ruth Fisher kindly agreed to be involved - we need more people.

View the presentation (without the slideshow)

Stoke Golding Streets 4 All blog launched

DIY Streets

We are now starting to get some traction for our initiative to make the streets of Stoke Golding a better place to live. We are also accumulating quite a lot of information so time for a blog that we can use for discussion and to share information. Check out the reference page for a wealth of resources that can be used to support our campaign. Do add your comments and feedback or better still still why not join us?

Reclaim our streets

Inspired by campaigns such as Sustrans "Free Range Kids" and The Times Cycle Campaign I decided that 20mph speed limits were the answer for my own village of Stoke Golding. However as I started to dig around and talk to people the answer became less clear to me. I took a step back and thought about what I was trying to achieve. The answer to this was easier - I wanted streets where people could live, play and socialise rather than it being just a thoroughfare for cars. In short I wanted to hand back streets to the people who live there - but how to do it?

Traffic speeds are critical, but streets also need to look and feel like a "place" rather than a highway. This can become a virtuous circle as research shows that drivers will naturally slow when there are people about and when the street "tells" them they need to go slow. This is generally talked about as "natural" or "psychological" calming. Designed correctly you should not need lots of hard calming measures such as speed bumps. This is all very well for a new development, but harder to achieve for existing streets.

I took a trip out to have a proper look at the neighbouring village of Higham on the Hill which is a "home zone". This has been done very nicely - not too many signs, no speed bumps, but subtle changes in road colour and texture, narrowing of roads. Planters, benches and attractive bollards. All great, but a whooping price tag of £400,000!!

This set me talking to the DIY Streets team at Sustrans. Their premise is that there are effective changes that can be made to streets

at low cost. A build out here and there, some changes in road texture or colour or a planter or two. The key here is that some of these can be done by the community themselves. This keeps costs low and builds ownership. They passed on some very useful resources that give some principles for street design, and also some ideas for how you can enliven streets - a temporary or moveable street cafe or a street side art gallery for example. Anything that will bring the community out and allow them to reclaim their streets.

So whilst I haven't given up on 20mph limits, I now believe that they are not enough on their own. At best they will achieve a marginal reduction in speed, but that alone will not be enough to reclaim the streets.

So where do I go from here? Well I have a slot at the Annual Parish Meeting in late April where I am hoping that I can achieve buy in to the vision and get support from the Parish Council and community. What I would then like to do is:

- start properly campaigning for reduced speed limits in the village;

- pick a particular problem and get some changes implemented on the ground; I think this is key to building momentum and credibility

- get an streets design for the village identifying affordable changes (Sustrans DIY Streets team can do this)

As ever funding will be a challenge, but we can but try. I will keep you posted through the blog as this develops.

I have unearthed quite a few good resources during my research - get in touch if you are interested and I may be able to point you in the right direction. Equally if anybody out there has been there / done it I would love to hear from you.