Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Your Independent councillor for Hilperton.

 

 

The WC consultation on the speed limt for the Hilperton Relief Road (to be named Elizabeth Way) is now closed.  Below is the response I sent.  I have also asked for a meeting with the Cabinet member who will make the decision on the speed limit in order to hopefully convince him that the highway officers are wrong to want the higher limit.

‘I wish to OBJECT to the planned 50mph speed limit for the following reasons.

1. My most serious concern is with the line-of-sight from Middle Lane bridleway (right of way HILP33) towards the ‘Fieldways roundabout’.  This will not give sufficient time for a horse and rider to cross the road if the approaching vehicle is doing 50mph.  This bridleway is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists as well as horse riders and a 40mph speed limit would make this major crossing point a lot safer.  I am seriously concerned for the safety of the public; both drivers and pedestrians/horse riders.  I would hate to be in the position of having to tell a coroner that ‘I warned WC but they ignored me’.

By my reckoning, the visible distance ‘uphill’ from the bridleway is 375 feet (114 metres) which at 50mph equates to a closing time of only just over 5 seconds (73 feet per second) – it will take longer than this to cross the road especially from the ‘horse stand areas’ which are being constructed.  If the speed limit were 40mph that time would increase to 6.5 seconds which, while still not really enough, is a near 25% increase in reaction time for both the driver and rider.

As I recall, it was originally expected that the Middle Lane bridleway crossing would have a ‘Pegasus’ light controlled crossing due to the volume of people/horses using it, but it would now seem that such a crossing is NOT going to be provided.  If it were to be installed that would, of course, mitigate my concern on this issue.

2. The HRR will be the main route to/from the Canal Road industrial estate for all HGV traffic.  When climbing the gradient towards the A361, a loaded HGV is unlikely to exceed 40mph and so a 40mph limit would not interfere with traffic flow.  When descending the gradient, a lower speed limit would aid road safety by reducing the chances of collisions at the Wyke Road roundabout.

3. The road has housing relatively close on both sides and so a 40mph limit is appropriate for environmental reasons.  WC highways has refused to use a ‘low noise’ road surface (despite a planning condition referring to this) and so a lower speed limit would mitigate this cost saving decision and ensure a better quality of life (due to reduced tyre roar) for residents.

4. The road, although short, is crossed by four public rights of way (HILP3, HILP5, HILP8 and HILP33) used by vulnerable road users – the elderly and young children. A 50mph limit is therefore unsuitable.

 

The increased transit time of a 40mph limit as against 50mph would be minimal due to the short length of the road.  In addition, at many times of the day, traffic waiting to exit the HRR will be queuing at the roundabouts (especially at the junction with the A361 where traffic from Trowbridge will have priority) and so a lower speed limit would aid road safety by reducing frustration as the queues would be shorter.’