Minutes:
Richard Rayson, Community Infrastructure Manager and David Walters, Regulation and Governance Manager
SCC receives more requests for improvements than it can meet for financial and practical reasons. In the last 2 years, 142 requests for weight limits were made from major to minor schemes. 85 requests for major schemes such as the A515 were received.
Each Member can identify community concerns and put them forward for inclusion in the DHP. All suggestions are agreed and prioritised. Each Member has a budget of £10,000 to address local highways issues. Requests for weight restrictions are considered through the DHP.
Councillor Tittley prioritised a feasibility study into a weight restriction on the A515 using his DHP monies. Amey completed a technical report (at a cost of approximately £2,000) to determine if the A515 was designated correctly as a principal route; to determine what changes (if any) are required; to determine if a potential weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes on a section of the A515 between the junction with Wood End Lane and the B5017 at Stubby Lane, Draycott in the Clay is feasible and deliverable. The report considered the freight strategy and the importance of transport and logistics to the Staffordshire economy; the Council’s powers, duties and responsibilities in terms of managing the local highways classifications and restricting HGV use. The Council’s duty to ensure traffic can move freely and swiftly on the SCC and HE network and the classification of the A515 as a primary road. It concluded that the A515 contributes to the efficient movement of traffic within the county and the destinations along its route are correctly classified as a primary road.
The implementation of a weight limit would require reclassification of the A515 to remove its status as a principle route. This requires the Council to demonstrate that traffic flows are relatively low or that the journey of similar convenience is available through an assessment of the observed journey times and journey time reliability. Impact of displaced traffic on the alternative route would have to be given full consideration.
Traffic data from 2012-13 shows that the percentage of HGVs using the A515 in Yoxall is 11.3% and in Draycott in the Clay 7.4%. It was suggested that the percentage for Kings Bromley would be similar to Draycott in the Clay. Any weight restriction would have to allow vehicles to have access to businesses and premises along its route. We have no data on the number of HGVs that currently travel along the A515 that would be affected by a weight restriction and further evidence would have to be found. The enforcement of a weight restriction is difficult. This would be the responsibility of Staffordshire Police. Personal injury accident analysis shows there is no disproportionate number of road accidents involving HGVs along the A515. Any weight restriction would have to be suspended during these times of emergencies and planned works on the trunk road network.
The report concludes that the implementation of a weight restriction on the A515 would not be appropriate. If the Council decides to go ahead Amey advises that the following should be initially undertaken:-
· Establish the % of HGVs using the A515 for access and the number of HGVs not affected by a weight restriction;
· To establish the effect of surrounding roads for displaced traffic, including the A38, through a collection and analysis of traffic data;
· To identify any work required to replace or modify all direction signs indicating the A515 as a primary route
· To consider the effectiveness of an appropriate enforcement strategy
· To establish the practicalities of a temporary suspension of a weight restriction when the A515 is required as an emergency diversion route in terms of frequency and signing requirements.
Officers confirmed that none of these actions have been taken as yet.
Members found it disconcerting that we had to wait for accidents to happen before action was taken. Accident data shows that reported accidents on the A515 are low in number. Average speed cameras have been installed on the A515 to influence traffic speed.
Specific solutions could be found using DHP monies to address the issue of HGVs mounting footways along the A515. Some solutions could be identified with local communities.
Members asked if there was an issue regarding the road width of the A515. A primary route should be 7.3metres wide. This is the case along the majority of the A515 but in parts of Yoxall and Kings Bromley this is not the case.
Members suggested that the origin and destination surveys be carried out. Some limited data was available that indicated that 57% of HGVs travelling to Fradley came from the North West, Warrington, Cheshire West and Cheshire East and Flintshire and 73% of HGVs are going to those destinations. This information could be supplemented by roadside interviews. Members sought reassurance that the HGVs using the A515 were using the correct route and should not be using the A38, and proposed a weight restriction on Wood End Lane.
Further evidence from DfT traffic counts showed that the number of HGVs using the A515 was typical of an ‘A’ road e.g. 11%. DfT counts are manual counts on a neutral day once a year. Further analysis of datasets going back to 2000, using 12 hour counts (not overnight) shows:
· On the A38 at Fradley and the A50 at Sudbury, traffic volume is going up, but less than it was at its peak.
· HGV volume and % of traffic on those roads are below the historic levels, but increasing in percentage in more recent years, probably reflecting the downturn in the economy and the fact that traffic is starting to grow again.
At Kings Bromley there are two DfT traffic count sites, one to the north of the village and one to the south of the village. The traffic volume at the north shows overall traffic volume is less than at its historic peak, but has started to increase in recent years. HGV volumes have been generally been reducing in recent years, and the percentage of HGVs has been reducing. To the south of the village, the overall traffic volume is less than the historic peak, but has increased in recent years. HGV volumes have followed a broadly similar pattern. The percentage of HGVs has very slightly increased in recent years.
In Yoxall, overall traffic volume is less than its historic peak but increased in recent years. A similar pattern for HGVs, less than historic levels, fairly constant in recent years.
Between Five Lane Ends and Mitre crossroads, overall traffic volume is less than at its historic peak, but has been increasing in recent years. Volume and % of HGVs, less than historic levels and fairly constant in recent years.
Right to the north of the A515, north of Draycott in the Clay, overall the volume of vehicles has increased, the volume of HGVs is generally down and the percentage of HGVs is generally down over the period. Finally the one on the right hand side (referring to a diagram showing the A513 west of Alrewas), the volume is overall less than historic peak and the volume and % of HGVs was specifically down.
In summary officers stated that this data gave quite a mixed picture of the volume of HGVs using the A515 and they would like to do more work to understand this data better.
Data from the Council’s own dataset recording data at 12 hour counts from 6 a.m. in the morning to 6 p.m. in the evening and from 6 p.m. in the evening to 6 a.m. in the morning, from our permanent site in Yoxall Road, Kings Bromley shows average hourly traffic flows between midnight and 11.00 a.m. for the last 12 months. 94% of the total flows from 6 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. Peak day time flows show 300 vehicles travelling in each direction. Night time flows varies from day to day, but typically can be down to 5 vehicles an hour but can be up to 40 vehicles, but most of the traffic is in the day time. The counts do not differentiate the type of vehicle.
Members favoured working with local Members to identify safety schemes that make the villages along the A515 less desirable to travel through.
Members did not consider that the DHP was adequate for addressing highways issues that cross Members’ divisions and county boundaries. Officers stated that the DHP was a means of identifying and record issues that have been raised by the public with their Councillors that may be appropriate for minor scale traffic schemes and other issues that it might be appropriate to secure Section 278 or 106 funding.
Members raised the issue of other housing development plans such as Brook Hay and the impact on the A38 and A515.