Lowering speed limits consultation - have your say

Many of you will have seen in the news (see Independent reporting for example) that there are proposals to give local authorities more scope to introduce 20mph limits in residential areas and also reduced speed limits on rural roads.

At this time the guidance issued by the dft is in draft form and is out for public consultation
https://consultation.dft.gov.uk/dft/speed-limit-circular this web page has a link to the draft proposal and a link allowing you to express your views. The consultation is open to 5th October 2012.

I have had a look at the proposals and in the context of our village and our aims have drawn out the following key points

1. Speed limits should be evidence based and must consider a number of factors (e.g. accident rates, use by vulnerable users, road purpose, communities)
2. It recognises the need for the limit to be reflective of the road condition (e.g. road geometry) and the purpose. It does not talk much about calming, but does recognise that factors other than speed limits need to be considered in managing traffic speed.
3. There is talk of balancing the needs of non motorised road users and many references to considering the needs of vulnerable road users (e.g. cyclists, pedestrians). They also want to encourage more walkers and cyclists.
4. There is recognition that roads also serve the needs of local communities and residents.
5. As regards 20mph limits there seems to be more of a leaning towards zones (requires calming measures) rather than limits. It suggest 20mph limits alone are only effective where speeds are already not more than 24mph
6. For rural roads there is a useful guidance table. From my interpretation this would certainly result in lower recommended speed limits for the approach roads into Stoke Golding.
7. They are currently developing an online tool (Road Appraisal Tool) to help local authorities assess the costs and benefits of proposed schemes

The guidance says little about the process for reviewing speed limits - i.e. when and how does a speed limit get reviewed? The text says "Traffic authorities are asked to:
- keep their speed limits under review with changing circumstances;
- consider the introduction of more 20 mph limits and zones, over
time, in urban areas, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, using the criteria in Section 6
It also says that "local residents may also express their concerns or desire for a lower speed limit and these comments should be considered". .There does not appear to be any specific funding or any specific timescales

I would encourage readers to review the proposals and submit their own consultation comments.

The Street Carpet that never was

The prototype

 So after weeks of planning and preparation the Stoke Golding Street Party became a Village Hall Party due to a very rainy and miserable day. Upwards of 200 people were shoehorned into the Village Hall with "the club" providing an overflow for maybe another 100 people. We all had a great time, but just not the day that we had planned.

Sawdust dying / drying

Raw sawdust

Obviously the Street Carpet did not go ahead so I am now stuck with a shed full of sawdust wondering what to do. I had pinned great hopes on the Street Party to engage with a lot of villagers about our Sreets4All campaign using the Street Carpet as a talking point. I am struggling to think how we can move this forward now.

Stencilled diamond

Of course the Olympics starts end of July. Sun 5th August is in the middle and 100m finals day - what be a great day for a Street Party, but could we mobilise people for a second attempt I wonder!

Hinckley Road Street Carpet

Just a few days to go now until the Stoke Golding Street Party. Hinckley Road will be closed from 11:00 - 16:00 and we are hoping for a fine day and lots of people.

We are planning to construct a sawdust street carpet across the road just by Thornfield Road. This is a natural crossing place for children visiting the "rec". We wanted to mock up a crossing to create a talking point for our Streets4All initiative, but we also wanted a fun activity for children to help construct on the day. The idea for a sawdust street carpet came from sawdust street carpets that are constructed for holy week in some South American countries have a look here. Our proposed design is somewhat less elaborate, but there again we will only have a few hours to work on it.

Its proved difficult to work out how to construct a sawdust street carpet, but I have found a source of cheap sawdust and been experimenting. The flag will have to be done freehand, then we have tile templates which we can move around to construct the main area filling in "grout lines" as we go. We have cardboard templates for diamonds, crowns, queens head and footprints that children should be able to help with. I have used simple poster paints to dye the sawdust with mixed results - the lighter colours do not work too well and the the blue is rather green. Here is a bit of a test with the union flag - pretty pleased really.

I am hoping for a dry windless day although I have sprayers and watering can to damp it all down. Could all be a disaster, we can but try though. Watch this space to see how it all worked out.

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?