Village Meeting Wednesday about Speeding Traffic

Speeding Traffic (Rat Run & Short Cut) at Chester Road, Penyffordd. (Tell interested parties)

Meeting Wednesday 2^nd May 2007 at 4.00pm (This Wednesday)

Present : Highways, Beat Manager, ArriveAlive, Councillors and Concerned.

The following comments and proposals sent to interested parties

The Issue

Traffic will not obey Penyffordd Chester Rd 30 mph speed limit by a long mark.

Over 70% of through traffic ignore the speed limit.

Well over 50 % of traffic have no business in Penyffordd except using it as a short cut.

I intend to survey traffic using Penyffordd as a short cut

This is unattractive in terms of Environment and Safety. We have a Penyffordd By-Pass, it should be used by non Penyffordd traffic.

This turns the village into a hostile environment at certain times of the day

We have a by-pass motorists prefer driving through the village as it is shorter and more direct.

Traffic Noise appears to be doubled by the speeding vehicles.

Warren Farm A55 junction when completed will greatly increase traffic through Chester Road, Penyffordd.

Traffic speeds through the village from 06.00 am to 22.00 pm daily.

The Reasons

Penyffordd has mainly long straight roads plus gradients that have had little Speed Policing over the years. The motorists know this. They abuse our Village Environment.

Traffic Behaviour.

Short Cut traffic enter the village at Wrexham Rd and Corwen Road and exit village through Chester Road to Broughton avoiding the by-pass.

At Chester Road near the garage cars accelerate to 40-60 mph at Penymynydd Rd junction. They reach the open speed limit doing 60 mph and more.

The majority of traffic exceeds 30 mph unless stopping at The Post Office.

In the reverse direction, Broughton to Corwen Road / The Vounog traffic descends into the village at speed only being halted by occasional congestion at the Post Office or the bend by the garage.

The Solution

Make it highly unattractive for passing traffic to use the village.

Possible Methods of Traffic Calming.

1. Make stretch of road from the Garage to The Institute 20 mph Compulsory. The Government encourage this near schools. Cheshire and Wrexham Councils have Compulsory 20 mph. zones.
2. Make outside The Post Office a Long Single Lane. The other lane for parking.

Cefn Mawr have a good example of a long single lane.

3. Construct a raised 100 mm plateau zebra crossing at The Post Office.
4. The introduction of 100mm plateau's from The Garage to the Open Speed limit up the hill to Broughton. May I quote “Without the option of using vertical shifts, the most effective speed reducing measures are removed from the traffic calming armory, lessening the potential for achieving slower traffic and reduced accidents.”

(Vertical shifts STOP 80 mph motor cyclists and the 60 mph Rat Run FULL STOP.)

Secondary Quote. The most effective traffic calming measures for reducing vehicle speeds involve vertical shifts in the carriageway such as road humps, plateau and cushions. These measures are very dependent upon spacing for their effectiveness. At a spacing of 40-60m, 85 percentile speeds of less than 30kph may be achieved. Please visit Blacon Avenue, Blacon for proof.

LINK http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/projects/primavera/p_calming.html

5. 7.5 Ton Weight Limit for village except for access.
6. A radical approach. Introduce a One Way System. Motorists to access by-pass to enter village only.

The by-pass entry being useful for villagers but useless for the short cutters. Have No Entry signs for Wrexham Rd, Corwen Rd and Chester Rd. Villagers can go out but the Rat Run cannot enter the village by these roads.

7. Arrivealive at Terrace Lane regularly. In the Terrace Lane (1^st right out of village) position Traffic cannot accelerate out of the middle of the village because they cannot be certain that the radar van is not present.

The perfect position is inside The Institute for morning traffic as traffic from Broughton cannot see van to warn the Rat Run coming the other way.

8. Noise reducing Surfaces.
9. The extension of the 30 mph limit to Mrs Hibbert’s house (last house on the left. Rat Run Traffic reaches 40 – 70 mph here.

The Benefits of Traffic Calming to the village of Penyffordd.

1. A large reduction in traffic noise and volume.
2. A safer environment, a reduction in possible accidents
3. Penyffordd remains a village instead of a rat run and short cut.
4. Children can use bicycles to go to school, horses are safer in the village
5. Pensioners are safer, Reduced noise levels. No racing motorcycles at 90 mph
6. You’re house price.
7. Less Air Pollution, children will be safer.

We should be A Village not a short cut route for outside traffic. We have a By- Pass.

Colin Hughes, 1 Penymynydd Rd, Penyffordd. Mobile 07734052779 email:tresmegistes@gmail.com

I have an online diary (Blog) which discusses the speeding traffic at http://penyffordd-district.blogspot.com/ I hope to include video footage (Youtube) and sound recording of the speeding traffic which will be regularly communicated to Flintshire County Council,

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom,P M , AM, Councillors and the Local Newspapers until this matter is fully resolved.

You may not agree with what I have put down as suggestions, this does not matter. Protest in your own way. It is however in all our long term interests to stop this speeding traffic. Below are the people that require you’re protest. Please put pen to paper, email or telephone. For those with computers email links for those below are hot on my blog.

It doesn’t matter if you complain after Wednesday as this matter will not be fully resolved then.

Make regular monthly complaints about the traffic if it is an issue with you. The council have a duty for our environmental well being, to protect us from this daily abuse.

Here http://www.flintshire.gov.uk/webcont/newrealweb.nsf/vwa_docref/DEVS5VNMTT

CONTACTS

Colin Bithell, CC 5 Allerton Close. Penyffordd, Near Chester CH4 0NJ 01244 550935

David Williams CC, Cae Derw, Wrexham Rd, Penyffordd email: dwillderw@yahoo.co.uk

Penyffordd Community Council, Mr G N I Jones, 4 Howards Close, Penyffordd,

CH4 0GG. Tel / Fax 01244 547440.

Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom (form email) http://www.north-wales.police.uk/en/blogs/viewblog.asp?UID=1&CID=7

PC Ian Millington (form email) http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwp/cbm/en/results.asp?id=f51

Carl Sargeant A M National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA email Carl.Sargeant@wales.gov.uk (please note there is a by-election on 3/May/2007)

Flintshire: Hugh Jones, Arrive Alive Safer Roads Officer, Transportation Planning & Environment, County Hall, Mold, Flintshire. CH7 6NF
E-mail: hugh.g.jones@flintshire.gov.uk

Mark Tami MP http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/mark_tami/alyn_and_deeside
or tamim@parliament.uk

I got the one I had here wrong. It is of course Airbus Ltd.