The Wells Road safety scheme
- action in response to an increase in the serious accidents happening on the northern strecth of the road
The public meeting held in response to the petition was held on 2nd August; around 15 residents attended.
Key point is that the "guidlelines" - that say other measures must be tried before cameras are used, and are reserved for even more serioius sequences of accidents - are much more than guidelines - financial scheme for the support from the Gov't would not be given if the guidlelines are not follwoed.
The follwing points will be reviewed and some depth given to the answers found on the following poijtns -
- should the propsed zebra crossing actually be further down serving the 2 bus stops? argument for - nearer the bus stops is likely to be more used; argument against - the consequence of removing a safety feature near the entrance to the park;
- what can be done about alleviating concerns near the inbound bus stop outside Walter Halls school?
- is there enough parking on The Wells Road left; (and can the NHS do more to provide on-site parking?);
Generally, the proposed revisions to the scheme were accepted -
· A review of the road layout near Boynton Drive/Astley Drive, will include building out the junction of Astley Drive and removing the right-turn road markings. This should improve visibility for those exiting Astley Drive and also enable those travelling on The Wells Road to see vehicles emerging. The raised plateau feature (which may require relocation) will also assist by reducing vehicle speeds to an appropriate level. · Higher up The Wells Road, near the Lodge, the island will be taken out as the Zebra Crossing will enable safe crossing. · In order to improve visibility, side growth on the trees will be trimmed and the trees crowned so that lighting is effective. The Department has looked at the request for safety cameras and it is clear that the road does not, at the moment, meet the requirements in terms of numbers of accidents and fatalities which justify safety cameras, despite the recent fatalities, which have shocked us all. A request for mobile speed cameras has been forwarded to Nottinghamshire Police – but mobile speed cameras are obviously only effective for relatively short periods of time – the proposed road humps offer a continuous and effective means of reducing vehicle speeds and road traffic accidents. Lower down The Wells Road, the effect of the speed humps and road build outs has been to reduce accidents.
The Wells Road has seen 3 fatal accidents in less than 18 months.
Action is proposed, reflecting the concern on speed and that 2 of the accidents involved motorbikes, including -
· 7 plateaux between Walter Halls school and south of the Astley Drive junction;
· 2 zebra crossings, one by the entrance to the park and one before the junction with the entrance to The Wells Centre;
· a built-out junction at Heaton Close.
The Wells Road - previous road safety measures More road safety measures have been introduced along the northern part of The Wells Road, including a formal zebra crossing outside Walter Halls school. Officers consulted with residents over the design of new measures and as a result the road was narrowed by the provision of a parking bay for residents above Astley Drive junction.
The Council is now consulting on more significant safety measures near the schools; and following a further fatal accident down the hill, probably as far as the Heaton Close junction, the scene of the accident. The scheme will be combined with a road mtce. scheme as it's clear that the road surface is breaking up and it's probable that more effective removal of surface water is required (i.e. more gully pots). The Wells Road - proposed road safety measures The details of the proposals for the length of The Wells Road between Heaton Closeand Woodborough Road, to reduce speed on the hill and to provide a safer environment at the school, are as follows:
The provision of 5 raised plateaux features starting near the site of the fatal accident of August 2004 above Boynton Drive and ending at the Walter Halls school,
two plateaux to have zebra crossings, one by the new entrance to the park and one before the junction with the entrance to The Wells Centre;
Probably the provision of 2 further raised plateaux either side of the Boynton Drive and Astley Drive junctions, and possibly a raised junction at Heaton Close;
Removal of the dropped kerb in the vicinity of the Wells Road Centre to deter parking on the footway;
Formalised parking bays (marked out) to encourage more organised parking practices near the Wells Road Centre and the school;
The provision of Traffic Regulation Orders along the section of The Wells Road between Woodborough Road and the start of the built up residential area;
Junction protection (double yellow lines) at the vehicular entrance to The Wells Road Centre;
Consideration being given to the implementation of a 20mph limit to complement the physical proposals;
General Improvements and adjustments to the white line markings;
more drains to take away running water (required by having plateaux);
a road mtce. scheme that acknowledges the break up of the road surface and the loss of effective white lining in many parts.
The Wells Road - response to proposed road safety measures Distributing a leaflet to explain the scehme, people we met were very pleased.
A design has been published and in response to comments some variations are aleready being considered.
There is likely to be a public meeting in response to a petition calling for the use of cameras instead. Essentially, guidelines require use of physical measures rather than cameras, and compliance with gudielines does affect the amount of financial suppprot for road safety measures from national government.
The Principal Engineer for Accident Investigation dealing with this Scheme, has responded to the organiser of a petition delivered on the 11th July 2006.
The results of the consultation, which has been held, have been mixed in that many residents signed a petition asking for safety cameras, but others wrote direct to the Traffic Management Department making clear their support for the Scheme.
The Scheme is proposed to be amended following the consultation:
A review of the road layout near Boynton Drive/Astley Drive, will include building out the junction of Astley Drive and removing the right-turn road markings. This should improve visibility for those exiting Astley Drive and also enable those travelling on The Wells Road to see vehicles emerging. The raised plateau feature (which may require relocation) will also assist by reducing vehicle speeds to an appropriate level.
Higher up The Wells Road, near the Lodge, the island will be taken out as the Zebra Crossing will enable safe crossing.
In order to improve visibility, side growth on the trees will be trimmed and the trees crowned so that lighting is effective.
The Department has looked at the request for safety cameras and it is clear that the road does not, at the moment, meet the requirements in terms of numbers of accidents and fatalities which justify safety cameras, despite the recent fatalities.
A request for mobile speed cameras has been forwarded to Nottinghamshire Police – but mobile speed cameras are obviously only effective for relatively short periods of time – the proposed road humps offer a continuous and effective means of reducing vehicle speeds and road traffic accidents.
The Wells Road - 20 m.p.h. zone outside St.Anns Wells Junior school A 20 m.p.h. zone was implemented in April for The Wells Road between the junctions of Botany Drive and Kildare Road, to slow vehicles travelling near the school. (Some further road markings are now planned.)
Signals at the Woodborough Road / The Wells Road junction
Signals at the Woodborough Road junction are not proposed.
The time taken to join the Woodborough Road has been a concern for many years.
But signals would be very expensive (preventing other road safety schemes to take place); are unlikely to be safer because accidents would happen at a higher speed; and motorists would cotton on to any new priority scheme, meaning more traffic using The Wells Road.
St.Ann's Well Road The major chicane scheme was introduced in 1993/4 and was controversial. But 11 people had been killed on the road in the previous 13 years and Police measured a vehicle travelling at more than 90 m.p.h. once a day and above 80 m.p.h. 3 times a day.
There have been no fatalities since the scheme was introduced.
[Last updated 2006-07-29]
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