Speed limit review of A + B roads – get your views in
Warwickshire residents are being reminded that proposals from a review of speed limits on A and B class roads in Warwickshire are not set in stone and all comments from local people will be taken into account.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, has today stressed that the review, completed by the Road Safety Unit, is now open for consultation and people can feedback comments until February 11.
Cllr Heatley said: “There are many proposals for roads across Warwickshire and we would like to hear from as many people as possible. The review has come about as part of a Speed Management Strategy and all opinions are welcome.”
The first part of the Government recommended review, was undertaken by the council’s traffic survey team and consisted of a technical assessment, including assessing the nature of the road and speed survey results on every A and B road in Warwickshire (excluding trunk roads and those roads running through villages which are dealt with under the Village Speed Limit Review).
The result of the technical assessment, which was based on the criteria recommended by the Department for Transport, is a list of possible speed limit changes for each district area. The list indicates where additional features should be placed on the road to improve speed limit compliance. It also includes the costs of engineering works.
The council has agreed an annual allocation of £400,000 for highway maintenance and safety for each of the council’s Area Committees up to 2009/10. County Councillors in each District Area can prioritise schemes and decide how much of this allocation is to be spent on speed limit changes.
Cllr Heatley said: “The speed of traffic has a dramatic impact on our lives and such a review has the potential to positively affect many people in the county.
“This is an excellent opportunity for our communities to get directly involved in the speed limit review assessment.”
Jo Edwards, the county council’s Senior Road Safety Engineer, said: “We invite any feedback from our communities, which will of course be taken into account by the County Councillors when choosing which schemes should be prioritised.
“We are very happy with the way in which the review is progressing.”
The Road Safety Unit has further information on it’s website http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/speedlimitreview, including the initial assessments and the facility to leave feedback by 11th February 2008.
The county council’s Road Safety Unit is committed to reducing road casualties and therefore new speed limits may be implemented outside of the above Speed Limit Review criteria where there is a significant number of personal injury crashes occurring. The council will also continue to implement the Village Speed Limit Review Scheme.