Medbourne Traffic

Speeding and Traffic Calming Measures

An area of recurring concern raised by residents of the village is the issue of speeding both into and out of the village.

Background

Over the years the PC has had various communications with Highways and the District and County Councils in an effort to address this issue and to try to find ways and means of dealing with the concerns.

Several years ago, upon the suggestion of the Police Department, we went to the extent of purchasing a share in a speed gun to be used by the police in an effort to take action against those speeding.  Several villages joined together to raise the funds for the speed gun which was then meant to be deployed in the villages on a regular basis.  Whilst a great idea in theory, it did not net the results the PC had hoped for.  Cuts in the number of officers and sabotage by members of the public (putting up signs warning drivers that there was a speed camera being used and to slow down) meant that this was not a particularly effective deterrent and over time it stopped being used altogether.

In the past year we have again attempted to lobby Highways to change the speed limits along:

1. the Uppingham Road between the 40mph sign and the 30mph – down to 30mph;
2. the Hallaton Road coming into the village – seeking to extend the 30mph to include the section of road in front of the Sports and Tennis Club.

In both instances we have been advised that Highways is not prepared to make any changes as there has been no significant demonstrable risk to the public.

In response to this a web page has been set up on this website so that incidents of bad driving can be recorded and we encourage you to take advantage of it, see the Speedwatch page on the Village web site.

Recent Events

The Parish Council determined that as it had been unable to obtain assistance from other avenues, it would explore the options of what it could realistically do or provide, using the limited Parish Council funds.

The Parish Council sought advice from a former employee of Leicestershire County Council’s Department of Environment and Transport about the measures which it could implement.  Mr Ian Drummond spoke to the Parish Council at the meeting in January 2019 on this topic and suggested several options.   A summary of these can be found in the minutes of the Jan 2019 meeting.

It was decided by the Parish Council that several options were possibilities but in order to take the matter further it needed to attempt to establish – as a matter of fact rather than speculation – which of the entrances to and from the village had the greatest need of traffic calming measures.

To this end the Parish Council paid for a Covert Traffic Survey to be carried out by the Environment and Transport Department of LCC.  The survey took place over the week of the 11th February 2019.

Cameras were positioned at the 4 entrances to the village:

Ashley Road;
Drayton Road;
Hallaton Road;
Uppingham Road;

and recorded the time and speed of each and every car coming into and leaving the village.  This information was then compiled into a report, see two spreadsheets containing all the data gathered and the analysis thereof: Spreadsheet 1 and Spreadsheet 2.

Upon receiving the report the Parish Council sought to have this informally analysed and was provided with the following information:

Herewith an overview of the results: 

There are a number of factors to take into account, namely traffic flow, average speed, maximum speed and the 85%ile speed. This last is the speed which 85% of motorists keep within and is generally considered to represent the behaviour of the majority of reasonable drivers. It has long been used as a tool for determining appropriate speed limits. 

Because the analysis puts speed into 10mph blocks, I have not reported on drivers exceeding 30mph, because many of these may be lower than the 35mph usually used to take enforcement action. Speeds in excess of 40mph represent a more tangible threat to safety and amenity. 

You have analysis for four sites.

Hallaton Road - 
Into the village (inbound) the average 24 hour flow is 547. The 85%ile speed is 39mph. 74/547 exceed 40mph. (13%)
Outbound 24 hour flow is 519. The 85%ile speed is 39mph. 60/519 exceed 40 mph. (12%)

Ashley Road -
Inbound flow 1644. The 85%ile speed is 39mph.  266/1644 exceed 40 mph. (16%)
Outbound flow 1651. The 85%ile speed is 41mph. 380/1651 exceed 40 mph. (23%). 24 vehicles exceeded 50mph. 

Drayton Road -
Inbound flow 849. The 85%ile speed is 26mph. 14/849 exceed 40mph. (<1%)
Outbound flow 852. The 85%ile speed is 25mph.  5/852 exceed 40mph (<1%)

Uppingham Road -
Inbound flow 418. The 85%ile speed is 28mph. 12/418 exceed 40mph (3%)
Outbound flow 446. The 85%ile speed is 28mph. 5/418 exceed 40mph. (<1%)”

In short, with limited financial resources and in an effort to address the most pressing areas of speeding within the village, the evidence supported the following:

1. there is no real need demonstrated by the results for traffic calming at either the Drayton or Uppingham Road entrances;
2. whilst Hallaton Road has higher than desirable speeds, the flows are low;
3. the results on the Ashley Road are the most concerning with the evidence showing that it is actually Harborough bound traffic accelerating away from the bridge which is travelling at the highest speeds.

All of this information and data was considered by the Parish Council at the March meeting and the main points will be documented in the March minutes.  This is an ongoing project for the Parish Council and the PC has only just started down this avenue but wanted to ensure that the report was made available to all concerned residents.

We are currently investigating the best and most cost effective way of delivering traffic calming measures in an effort to reduce speeding and make the village a safer place to live and visit.

We are also compiling a report to be sent to the County Council with photographs of all existing road signs and markings which are in need of attention, in an attempt to have them properly restored, repainted etc.

Should you have any queries or comments, please do not hesitate to provide them to the Parish Clerk or to any of the members of the Parish Council.

Medbourne Parish Council
April 2019