Nearly a year has passed since officers from Gloucestershire County Council promised to work on plans to introduce a one way system in streets off Bath Road including Exmouth Street, Hermitage Street, Francis Street and Naunton Crescent. This promise was made at a public meeting I chaired where a variety of traffic and parking issues were discussed. Once this work was complete I had hoped that the County would have a draft plan that local people could be consulted on for their views.
Having taken so long for this work to be undertaken (despite being prompted by me on numerous occasions) it is extremely annoying and frustrating that only now have they issued a report which concludes that doing nothing is the best option. They say there is nothing apart from an advisory "20mph is plenty scheme" that could help residents living in these streets with traffic issues.
I am working with a small group of local residents to challenge this decision and we are considering how best to take this forward. The problems caused by the levels of traffic congestion in these narrow streets were never going to be easy to resolve but for the County Council to take so long to simply throw the towel in is unacceptable.
Highway Scheme Report
Exmouth Street, Hermitage Street, Francis Street & Naunton Crescent
Cheltenham
Purpose of Report
To consider options for improving traffic issues in the area of Exmouth Street, Hermitage Street, Francis Street and Naunton Crescent, Cheltenham.
Location description
All four streets run southeast from Bath Road, a busy local shopping area with several pubs, restaurants and takeaways. A street plan can be found in Appendix A.
The roads are used for access and parking by residents, visitors, shoppers, businesses and their customers, restaurant/pub/takeaway users and by other people using the roads for access and routes to other roads in the area. The roads also provide links to a primary school, park, trading estate and a link between Bath Road/town and Old Bath Road/Charlton Kings. Local businesses make use of the Bath Road end of the streets for deliveries/loading & unloading – mainly reversing in from Bath Road and exiting back onto Bath Road.
Francis Street: Wider at the northwest end it narrows as it runs southeast with a bend just before the southeast end. Vehicles park on either side of the road throughout the majority of its length creating a single carriageway in which to drive along. It is particularly narrow around the bend to the southeast end. The northwest end is however wider and there are double yellow lines outside a garage and shop and across a small side lane junction, making it double carriageway on this section. The majority of the length of the road is characterised by terraced housing with small front gardens. Footways run the full length of the road on either side.
Hermitage Street: Again wider at the northwest end and narrowing as it runs southeast with a slight bend towards the southeast end, Hermitage street is narrower throughout than Francis Street and single carriageway for almost all of its length.
Vehicles park throughout much of the length on both sides where there is the road width and just on one side where the road is very narrow. This parking is along the footway on the south side and mainly on the road on the north side but often slightly on the footway also, particularly near the bend towards the southeast end. Shops are located either side of the Bath road end of the street with some double yellow lines in from the junction. There is also a small access lane behind several shops. The road is characterised by terraced houses with very small front gardens.
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| Hermitage Street |
Vehicles park throughout much of the length on both sides where there is the road width and just on one side where the road is very narrow. This parking is along the footway on the south side and mainly on the road on the north side but often slightly on the footway also, particularly near the bend towards the southeast end. Shops are located either side of the Bath road end of the street with some double yellow lines in from the junction. There is also a small access lane behind several shops. The road is characterised by terraced houses with very small front gardens.
Exmouth Street: Wider than both Francis Street and Hermitage Street, Exmouth Street also has two road junctions along its length into other streets (Naunton Terrace and Naunton Parade). Shops are located both sides of the Bath Road end and there is a small access lane behind several shops. There is also a loading bay on the road which is used by large Co-op delivery lorries accessing their main delivery entrance located on the road. Parking generally takes place on the south side from its northwest end to Naunton Terrace, although there are also some sections of parking on the northeast side. From Naunton Terrace south to the Hermitage Street junction parking takes place on both sides of the road. All parking is on the carriageway. There are sections of double yellow lines, dropped kerbing and drive/garage accesses on many parts of the road and coupled with the road width, particularly around the junctions within the road, there are many opportunities for two vehicles travelling in opposite directions to pass. The road is characterised by a mixture of terraced housing (mostly on the southwest side) and various housing styles on the northeast side. Many of the houses on the northeast side have garages and/or drives.
Naunton Crescent: Road width is uniform along its length with a slight bend at the western end. Naunton Crescent is at the junction with Naunton Lane to the east and Francis Street and Exmouth Street to the west. There are double yellow lines and single yellow line at the junction with Naunton Lane and several marked disabled bays on the carriageway along its length. Parking is on both sides of the road and speeds are generally low due to road width. Naunton Crescent is characterised by terraced housing on both sides with small front gardens and no apparent off road parking exists for these properties. There are no shops on this length of road and Naunton Crescent is purely residential in nature.
Background
Requests have been received from some residents to introduce ways of improving traffic issues throughout these roads. The requests have come via Councillor Klara Sudbury directly, a meeting that was held with Cllr Sudbury, residents and GH officers and via a recent parking scheme consultation.
Issues mentioned by residents
· Damage to vehicles caused by large vehicles using the roads
· Having to make difficult reversing manoeuvres when meeting on-coming traffic, either into vacant parking spaces or back along the narrow street.
· Over-use of the streets (increasing the issues above) by larger vehicles travelling to and from the trading estate or using the route to link through to other areas. Anecdotally some of this is as a result of satellite navigation systems directing them this way.
Suggestions made by residents
· Passing places
· One Ways
· Weight or width restrictions
· Area wide 20mph speed limit
· Traffic calming on Naunton Crescent
It is worth noting that since the requests to address these issues were received improved signage has been put in place in the area. This has included more signage on both Bath Road and Old Bath Road, directing drivers to the trading estate along more appropriate routes rather than through the residential streets. New and better located ‘unsuitable for wide vehicles’ signage has also been placed on the Francis Street and Hermitage Street junctions.
Discussion of suggestions
Passing places
Passing places on both Francis Street and Hermitage Street would create sections where two vehicles could pass. This would mean meeting vehicles may not need to reverse to give way or may reduce distances they would need to reverse to give way. This would however take away existing parking to create the passing places. Parking in the area is limited relative to demand and taking away any parking is unlikely to be supported by the majority of residents and unpopular with local businesses. There is also the chance more than two vehicles from both directions would meet, which would again mean reversing as present as only one car could make use of the passing space, unless of course more parking was removed. Passing places would not address the issue of larger vehicles using the roads.
One Ways
Francis Street: A one way on Francis Street running southeast to northwest would stop vehicles entering from Bath Road and prevent issues associated with meeting on-coming traffic and larger vehicles entering the road not being aware of the narrowness of the road at the southeast end. It may also dissuade larger vehicles from entering the road from the southeast end as they would see the narrowness at that end and may seek alternative routes.
Hermitage Street: As Francis Street, a one way on Hermitage Street running southeast to northwest would stop vehicles entering from Bath Road and prevent issues associated with meeting on-coming traffic and larger vehicles entering the road not aware of the narrowness of the road at the southeast end. It may also dissuade larger vehicles from entering the road from the southeast end as they would see the narrowness at that end and may seek alternative routes.
The problems associated with one ways on these two streets are:
- They would prevent the northwest end of the streets (by Bath Road) being usable by local businesses who currently use them for deliveries/loading & unloading. It would also prevent delivery vans for residents being able to park there.
- They would prevent larger vehicles such as refuse lorries, delivery lorries, emergency service vehicles from being able to enter the road. These larger vehicles presently use the wider ends of the roads and either park up or drive down reversing in or out. Several businesses have rear accesses where large bins are collected from.
- Large vehicles may still use the one ways therefore still potentially causing damage to parked vehicles.
- All north/westbound traffic would be pushed into using other neighbouring roads which either have similar issues to these roads at present (e.g. Langdon Road) or would develop similar issues with an increase in traffic. Exmouth Street in particular may suffer problems.
- Vehicle speeds are likely to increase as drivers would not need to consider on-coming vehicles.
It would not be advisable to start the One Ways from further into the roads, allowing two- way traffic at the Bath Road ends, for the following reasons:
- Vehicles may pull into the road unaware of the one way further along, and then have to try and manoeuvre back out, either trying to turn in a narrow street or reversing out onto a busy road. Additional signing could be put in warning drivers of One Ways ahead, however these may be missed by drivers, they may not fully understand them, they may find them confusing or they may not take notice of them.
- Even with additional signing drivers would still be able to enter the road, either to make use of the two way section, or accidently, and then have to try and manoeuvre back out of the road.
- People may choose to ignore the One Way having already entered the road.
Exmouth Street: A One Way on Exmouth Street would need to run southeast from Bath Road to Naunton Crescent to offset the Northwest bound One Ways on Francis Street and Hermitage Street. This would prevent possible issues associated with an increase in two Way traffic as a result of One Ways on both Francis Street and Hermitage Street.
The problems associated with a One Way on Exmouth Street are:
- Naunton Parade and Naunton Terrace are both accessed from Exmouth Street and a One Way would greatly reduce access options for reaching these two roads (large vehicles would not be able to manoeuvre into these road, any engineering options to improve these junctions are extremely limited by the proximity of properties here).
- Naunton Parade and Naunton Terrace are both cul-de-sacs and would need to remain two-way, possibly causing confusion to people driving about in the area due to the amount of variation in permitted driving directions.
- Larger vehicles (such as delivery vehicles and refuse lorries) would enter the road from Bath Road and would have to then travel down Exmouth Street where they may encounter problems negotiating their way around tight junctions and narrow streets. This would particularly be an issue for the larger lorries that the Co-Op use for deliveries, where they would be unable to exit Exmouth Street from the southeast end.
- The loading bay for the Co-Op would need to be moved further down the road in front of terraced houses (and removing parking) to allow loading/unloading from the rear of the lorry into the Co-Op delivery entrance.
- Large vehicles heading from the Naunton area to Bath Road would be pushed into using Francis Street and Hermitage Street, which are both less suitable for larger vehicles.
Weight & Width Restrictions
Weight or Width Restrictions could be implemented on Francis Street and Hermitage Street to prevent large vehicles (over 7.5t or a certain width) from using the roads. This would prevent possible damage by large vehicles to parked cars along the narrow streets. Any weight restriction would include an exemption for access and so delivery lorries, refuse lorries and any other vehicles accessing businesses or properties would be able to use the roads as at present.
The problems associated with weight or width restrictions on these streets are:
- Large vehicles would still be using the roads (for access purposes).
- Drivers may ignore the restriction or claim they did not see it or were accessing a property or business if stopped.
- It would not solve meeting oncoming traffic issues.
Area wide 20mph speed limit
20mph speed limits should be considered in streets that are primarily residential and where pedestrian and cyclist movements are high such as around schools, shops, playgrounds and where vehicle movement is not the primary function. They should also be introduced where there is a clear impact on road safety and a reduction in casualty figures from the reduced speed limit would be significant. 30mph is appropriate in built up areas where vehicle movement is important and casualty figures are low.
Francis Street, Hermitage Street, Exmouth Street and Naunton Crescent are primarily residential streets with parking on the carriageway. Speeds are on average below 30mph due to reduced available road width. Although unlikely to be the primary function, cycling and walking are important functions with good links to local facilities on Bath Road. On the other hand evidence suggests that cyclists and pedestrians are using these routes with little or no incident. There have been a small number of vehicle damage incidents over the preceding three years but no accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists on the said routes. Footways in the area are adequate and with average speeds on the routes between 15- 21mph (See Appendix B) the benefit to casualty reduction would be low.
In this situation Gloucestershire County Council recommend a locally led 20’s plenty campaign to ensure that the current balance is maintained between residents and road users on these routes. These measures should help drivers to be more aware of the road environment and to drive at an appropriate speed according to the conditions. Community led action could have a greater long term impact than the introduction of a permanent 20mph speed limit.
Traffic calming on Naunton Crescent
Traffic calming is only considered when contravention of the speed limit leads to a high incidence of accidents or when a residential road becomes widely used to avoid a major route. Contravention of the existing speed limit on Naunton Crescent is low and there is no personal injury accidents recorded in the preceding three years. Introduction of traffic calming measures on a road where evidence suggests speeding and accidents are not detrimental to highway safety could lead to additional problems on the local network. The current level of through traffic does not suggest that high volumes of vehicles are using Naunton Crescent to avoid major routes nearby.
The problems associated with traffic calming on Naunton Crescent are:
- Although some vehicles will avoid Naunton Crescent the measures may result in an increase in traffic flow on Fairfield Parade.
- Inconvenience to residents from the noise (noise complaints from residents are particularly high where houses directly front calming such as terraced housing due to the close proximity to the carriageway) created by traffic negotiating the traffic calming features particularly at night/early morning.
- Some loss of on street parking to accommodate the features where parking is already at a premium.
- Large vehicles may still use the route as they can negotiate speed cushions/ humps easier than cars due to their long wheelbase.
- No noticeable difference to speed/accident reduction or vehicle movements on the route.
- A reduction in air quality due to vehicles braking/accelerating while negotiating traffic calming features.
Conclusion
This report has explored the issues raised by local residents and analysed the suggestions made. Gloucestershire County Council has a duty to assess the merits of each suggestion against the needs of all highway users and in accordance with national guidance.
Introducing passing places may help to alleviate some of the issues but residents rely heavily on the on-street parking availability due to the lack of off street parking in the area. It is likely that in this instance there would be a mixed response from residents especially from individuals who may have one of the passing spaces outside of their particular property. All of the surveyed routes were heavily parked and opportunity for a parking space particularly on Francis Street was limited. Exmouth Street has a number of accesses along the route and passing space already exists due to a number of ‘keep clear’ markings in the carriageway.
One of the main issues raised by local residents was the use of some of the surrounding streets from Bath Road by large vehicles. These were causing instances of vehicle damage due to the many parked cars on the street. Evidence suggests that large vehicles only use the route where absolutely necessary for deliveries and improved signing in the area has led to a reduction in heavy goods vehicles using these roads as through routes. No HGV’s were observed using the routes during the survey period.
Introducing a weight limit is unlikely to have the desired effect on reducing heavy goods vehicles to the area that residents seek. There are businesses and residents in the area who will require deliveries and exemptions will allow this as part of a weight limit order. An area wide weight limit ban will not prevent heavy goods vehicles using these routes altogether. One way orders on some of the roads would make deliveries for some businesses difficult and could result in an increase in larger vehicles using other streets nearby to comply with the restrictions. Some contravention is likely to occur for businesses that exist at the periphery of the one way restrictions when delivery drivers choose to load/unload rather than drive a greater distance around the one way route. The one way orders will do little to prevent damage to resident’s vehicles as lorries will still have access albeit one way only. One way streets usually result in an increase in vehicle speeds as waiting for oncoming traffic will be eliminated. The knock on effect will be a greater accident risk to pedestrians and cyclists.
Residents also raised the issue of drivers using these roads frequently to avoid the traffic signals on Bath Road at peak times of the day. Observations in the area suggest that the majority of drivers are unlikely to take this approach due to possible delays negotiating parked cars and the restrictive narrow nature of these roads. The difference in journey time would appear to be negligible.
The introduction of a permanent 20mph speed limit will undoubtedly have some effect on driver behaviour on these roads but speeds are largely below the existing speed limit with no recorded injury accidents in the preceding three years. The speed surveys suggest that drivers using the said routes are already driving at an appropriate speed and well below the existing speed limit of 30mph. A community led advisory 20mph speed limit (20’s plenty) would have a greater impact allowing local residents and local community groups to have more control over maintaining an influence on driver behaviour in the area.
Recommendation
In conclusion, the suggestions by local residents and the local member have been thoroughly assessed but the available options are likely to lead to a negative impact on local businesses and the surrounding road network with little gain. The recommendation at this time would be not to progress with the one ways and weight/width restrictions nor the traffic calming on Naunton Crescent but to encourage the local community to consider a 20’s plenty campaign. Passing places could be considered on Francis Street and Hermitage Street subject to consultation with local residents in order to identify the levels of support or objection before proceeding with any statutory consultation.
Date complete: 29/01/13
