Advice please - How to persuade a council that there is a speeding problem

[hatler]

As above. There's a local road that is used as a high speed cut through and we are struggling to persuade the council that there is a problem. Struggling even to engage.

This is SW London suburbia, and we're in a borough that has introduced a borough wide 20mph limit. The road passes a park and playground.

Vehicles clearly exceeding the speed limit include trucks, vans and coaches.

What does the panel suggest ?

What have you tried that worked in a similar situation ?

Many thanks (as ever)

 

[PeteXXX]

Could you engage the help of your local MP, assuming they are any use?

 

[All uphill]

Ask your local police to help you measure the speed of traffic? I know they lend speed guns to community groups down here.

Get a story in the local press, social media.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

What they will respond to is evidence, especially if that evidence is robust and well publicised, so you may want to look at hiring a reputable speed gun, and carrying out some form of traffic count. That can generate a fair amount of media interest, which would provide added levers.

Some Council's have their own speed guns which they may offer to deploy to check your findings, especially if you can get support from accident prevention groups.

 

[HMS_Dave]

It's very cynical of me to suggest, but until enough people are killed, nothing is seldom done. We are a reactionary species...

 

[mjr]

Amen to most of the above. Record it. Publicise it. That tactic worked in the Chase area of King's Lynn when they wanted to get lorries banned from an unsuitable road: film a few hurtling through past children waiting to cross to go to nursery, and photograph some collisions with parked cars, then publicise it and write to their county councillor and MP. (If it is not a strategic road, English County/London Borough councillors have more direct influence than the MP or AM.)

 

[mjr]

nothing is seldom done.

I suspect you have edited that and left a double negative by mistake?

 

[HMS_Dave]

I suspect you have edited that and left a double negative by mistake?

I'll leave it in as an example to the kids on how not to conduct English...

 

[Joffey]

It's very cynical of me to suggest, but until enough people are killed, nothing is seldom done. We are a reactionary species...

This.

 

[biggs682]

You have just got to keep knocking on the council or police doors till you get noticed

 

[Archie_tect]

Providing there aren't any double yellow ines on the road get together with your neighbours to park cars to create chicanes along the road... the resulting congestion will slow everyone down to more practical speeds. When the parking causes complaints that'll draw attention to the rat-run.

As part of the reports for planning applications many councils ask for speed monitoring before determining what forward visibility splays are required for a proposed road junction. The monitoring is done over a set period [a week or two usually] and is done by fixing two cables across the road surface attached to monitoring equipment chained tp an adjacent lamppost which records the speed of passing traffic. The analysis of the records shows how many vehicles exceeded the speed limit and by how much over an average 24 hour period. Many traffic engineers will be able to do this for you and the cost is reasonable. Councils accept the findings as evidence and will usually seek to install traffic calming to make the route less attractive to use, but be careful what you wish for. Alternatively you could ask for a display unit to be fitted to a lamppost which shows "Your Speed" on an LED display- this visual reminder usually slows drivers down by a few mp[h but you will always get a %age speeding unless you can have someone permanently there with a laser gun.

 

[vickster]

Council road, or TFL route? If this is Merton, the 20 limit is certainly highly discretionary (it might for some people keep them below 30, but many still fly around at 40)

Having a 20 limit on a broadly non residential DC is always doomed to fail I think as some of the Merton roads!!

 

[Arjimlad]

Can you contact your local councillors about this? Getting some local pressure from their voters can energise them sometimes.

 

[DRM]

We have 20 mph zones all over Leeds, no one takes a blind bit of notice of them, and no one enforces them, no point in having them

 

[Grant Fondo]

As above. There's a local road that is used as a high speed cut through and we are struggling to persuade the council that there is a problem. Struggling even to engage.

This is SW London suburbia, and we're in a borough that has introduced a borough wide 20mph limit. The road passes a park and playground.

Vehicles clearly exceeding the speed limit include trucks, vans and coaches.

What does the panel suggest ?

What have you tried that worked in a similar situation ?

Many thanks (as ever)

Hi, get video evidence. Send to council highways boss (not the department website address), tell him/her you have recorded sending of said video.
Follow up with a 'public safety concern' letter, (ref. video email).
Ask them to respond in writing within 14 days, otherwise you will escalate to Grant Shapps, Transport Minister. Might work.