Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/131

Contact: Hugh Potter, Group Manager – Area Operations Hub Tel: 07766 998704/Ryan Moore, Senior Engineer (Road Agreement Team) Tel: 07557 082568

Report by Director for Community Operations (Interim) (CMDE8).

The report presents responses received to a statutory consultation to introduce traffic calming measures and a 20mph speed limit on Brasenose Road and Slade Road put forward as part of the approved residential development at Great Western Park and, if approved, funded by developers.

The Cabinet Member for Environment is RECOMMENDED to approve the proposed 20mph speed limit and traffic calming measures in Brasenose Road and Slade Road as advertised.

Approve the 20 mph limit but not the traffic calming measures as proposed but ask officers to investigate alternative provision of raised tables at junctions on the route (in addition to the 2 proposed at the Churchill Road junctions) ie Morrells Close with Brasenose Road and possibly Icknield way and Oxford Crescent.

The Cabinet Member for Environment considered (CMDE8) responses received to a statutory consultation to introduce traffic calming measures and a 20mph speed limit on Brasenose Road and Slade Road put forward as part of the approved residential development at Great Western Park and, if approved, funded by developers.

Sean Wilde spoke against the proposed traffic calming cushions located outside his property in Slade Road and urged consideration of alternative measures. Access to the property was already a dangerous manoeuvre due to current traffic, parked cars and pedestrians etc when trying to reverse onto/off our drive and virtually impossible due to lack of visibility. They currently often had to wait on the road to ensure all on-coming vehicles had passed and pedestrians had cleared their driveway before attempting access. Speed cushions would add further difficulty/complications to an already risky manoeuvre. He referred to increased noise which he had observed at a friend’s property due to cars having to brake/accelerate when navigating the cushions and other obstructions e.g. parked cars and similarly increased pollution from vehicles waiting/queuing to pass one another outside their property. He also had safety concerns as the length of the cushions at 3.7m were fairly long meaning drivers had to line-up to traverse over them, so for vehicles travelling in opposite directions they would tend to try and traverse over the cushions by avoiding them, meaning that drivers/vehicles would be forced towards the centre of the road, thus potentially heading towards one another. There would be issues for visitor parking as the cushions would be positioned directly outside his house and therefore not  visible by other drivers with cars parked on them.  He asked if alternative options had been considered such as raised tables at strategic junctions along Slade Road at strategic junctions at Oxford Crescent, Icknield Close and Churchill Road with a 20mph speed limit so drivers knew that they were entering a 20mph speed limit area. All his neighbours who were directly impacted with the positioning of these cushions were opposed to installation outside their homes and he urged that their objections be taken into account and consider placing them directly outside the properties of residents who had expressed their support for these measures.

Dawn Elsley outlined several objections to the proposed speed cushion outside their property. Firstly noise due to the braking and accelerating between cushions which she had observed on other roads with speed cushions. The noise had been very noticeable and would impact on rooms at the front of their house. There would also be an increase in air pollution. She also objected on access grounds to their dropped kerb driveway as a cushion would present another obstacle to negotiate when reversing on to or reversing out from their driveway causing a potential safety issue. They were also objecting to the positioning of the speed cushions as on investigation, there appeared to be no specific criteria to where cushions should be placed in a road. They understood that this had been merely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16