I've receive many complaints about rat-running and speeding in Harrowgate Hill and as a result I’ve requested traffic monitoring devices to be fitted to capture the number, type and speed of traffic. The reason for this is so that Council Officers can calculate the 85th percentile of speed because Durham Constabulary will only carry out enforcement action where 15% or more of motorists are travelling in excess of 35mph.

Of all of my requests, where residents have raised their concerns over the volume and speed of traffic, it has only been proven on Burtree Lane that 15% or more of motorists are travelling in excess of 35mph. Consequently Durham Constabulary was made aware of residents concerns and enforcement action has been carried out.
 

Research (TRL 1998 and 1999) has shown that if an individual drives at more than 10-15% above the average speed of the traffic around them, they are much more likely to be involved in a collision. (10-15% above 30mph is 33mph-34.5mph).
 

If a pedestrian is hit at:

• 20mph there is about a 97% chance of survival

• 30mph there is about a 80% chance of survival

• 35mph there is a 50/50 chance of being killed

• 40mph there is about 10% chance of survival

(Source Ashton and Mackay 1979)
 

There is a need to worry about speed, because the consequences of driving too fast are so severe.
 

In 2003 there were over 3,000 people killed (nearly 10 people every day) and 33,000 seriously injured in collisions on Britain’s roads. And where there are serious or fatal injuries resulting from collisions, excessive speed is more likely to be a contributory factor.
 

It’s all about judgement, and it is extremely important. Inappropriate Speed is someone driving within the speed limit but too fast for the road and traffic conditions. Most of the roads around Darlington are subject to a 30mph speed limit. Areas with shoppers looking to cross the road at various points, parked vehicles around which pedestrians might suddenly appear, delivery vans, cyclists and buses where people might risk crossing the road where perhaps they should not. They might also be in the vicinity of schools, hospitals and where the elderly may be present. These roads require drivers to take account of all these various factors and drive at appropriate speeds.
 

The Government provides advice to traffic authorities (County, District and Borough Councils, but not Parish Councils) on the setting of local speed limits. It is for those authorities to decide what is the most appropriate speed limit for their roads based upon local considerations and circumstances. This would usually reflect factors such as accident history, traffic flows, road traffic mix, levels of adjacent development and road geometry. They can set speed limits from 20mph to 70mph inclusive.
 

In 1999 local authorities were given the powers to introduce a 20mph speed limit without requiring the consent of the Secretary of State.
 

Durham Constabulary are responsible for enforcing the speed limit but won’t support any 20mph speed limit without the inclusion of traffic calming measures, such as speed humps and bumps, in accordance with the law.

 

Now the Road Safety Minister has proposed to allow local councils to introduce 20mph zones in residential areas without the need for traffic calming measures such as speed humps and the department of transport has asked for the views of local councils on these proposals, in order to allow new guidance to be published at the earliest available opportunity. The closing date for this consultation with local councils was the 5 February 2010 and Darlington Borough Council Officers intended to reply offering support in principal. 

 

If introduced the guidance will provide a more flexible approach to any scheme design and allow more scope to take into account views of residents during consultation.  

 

Our Council is committed to a wide programme of 20mph schemes through the Local Transport Plan and it will be important to continue to ensure they deliver the outcome of managing speed to reduce the severity of accidents, whilst enhancing the area for more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.  

 

All of the council’s 20mph zones have been through a thorough consultation exercise before they were introduced. They are delivering the intended outcomes of managing speed and continue to help drive down accident rates, whilst encouraging cycling and walking. 

 

The current guidance provides fairly strict guidance on the need for physical measures and the Police use this guidance to assess whether they would support proposals that our council puts forward.

 

The consultation also suggests that having no features may not be appropriate for all locations. A number of factors such as current speed, accident history, pedestrian and cycling levels, location of schools need to be taken account. The roll out of 20mph schemes will be reconsidered if and when new guidance is published later in the year.

 

Experience elsewhere around the country suggests the placing of signs alone in certain locations may not influence behaviour, but I welcome the greater flexibility in designing and delivering 20mph zones.

There's two very interesting and very readable blogs on the mighty www which I thought I would share with you.

For starters there's Mike Barker's Blog over at http://cllrmikebarker.blogspot.com - who's latest post reads;
Tory axe hangs over 57m bsf money (that's our Longfield's school money too)

Mike says:
As I said in Full Council last night: Darlington's hard won £57m from the Building Schools for the Future programme has an axe hanging over it if the Conservatives win the next General Election. Unless final contracts have been signed by May 6th, the Conservatives have made it clear that these schemes cannot be guaranteed.

We know the Conservatives intend to divert money away from capital investment programmes in education to fund the surplus places it needs to kick start its free school movement. Now, through the Times Education Supplement, we hear from the Conservative Party's Shadow Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, that in the event of a Conservative Government being formed after the next General Election, the completion of new BSF schemes will only be guaranteed if "Financial Close" has been reached.

If the final contracts aren't signed by the time of the election, there is no guarantee that the Conservatives will honour the existing arrangements. Now, Darlington's acceptance into the most recent wave of BSF funding streams happened last November. I understand from officers, and it was confirmed in Council last night, that the time scale from there to final contracts being signed will typically be about one year, which clearly takes us past the date of the next General Election.

The BSF programme has been hugely bureaucratic and inefficient, but the fact remains that Darlington has succeeded in winning £57m from it - and we want that money. We have three schools in desperate need of rebuilding or renovation: Hurworth, Branksome and Longfield. Parents of children at, or soon to start at, one of these three schools should be aware that there is a Conservative axe hanging over theses plans. If they, quite understandably, want to show their opposition to what the Labour Government has been doing, but at the same time want to protect the redevelopment of these local schools, there is only one choice: they have to vote Liberal Democrat.