Ickleford to be Consulted on Traffic Calming Measures in the Village
| Published: 6th October 2008 10:18 |
After decades trying to get some form of traffic calming in Ickleford, the Parish Council is pleased that progress is finally being made - but because of the controversial type of calming, it's going to ask the whole village for its opinions.
Ickleford Village Sign © Chris WhymerSpeeding traffic, especially by those who use it as a ‘rat-run', has been an increasing concern for the residents of Ickleford. In its Parish Plan survey of 2006, 85% of respondents wanted something done to slow down vehicles though the village. Thanks to the hard work of concerned residents, Ickleford Primary School, and the Parish Council an official traffic survey was conducted in December 2007 which showed the extent of the problem: tens of thousands of vehicles per week going through all parts of the village well in excess of the speed limit. ‘Speeding vehicles are a menace, and not only for children.' says Fiona Warner, School Travel Plan coordinator. ‘They have a negative impact on the whole village.'
Representatives from Hertfordshire Highways have now presented the village with a plan to eliminate the problem of speeding traffic. Part of this plan involves a raised pedestrian crossing outside the school to make is safer for children to walk to school. Associated with this is a series of speed cushions to slow traffic in the run-up to the crossing. Additional cushions will be placed on the rest of Arlesey Road and on Turnpike Lane. All other options to slow traffic were considered, but were not applicable in Ickleford for a variety of reasons. Bedford Road and Chambers Lane will also gain some road safety improvements.
However, not everyone in Ickleford is happy with the proposals: ‘We know that speed cushions evoke strong emotions on both sides of the argument', says Miles Maxwell, vice-Chair of the Parish Council. ‘That's why we're going to ask everyone in the village for their opinion.' Each household will receive an explanatory leaflet plus a survey form asking for the number of residents in their household in favour or against the plans for the four areas for traffic calming. ‘We really want everyone to look carefully at the proposals, and return the survey form', says Cllr Maxwell. ‘I believe this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to address the danger of speeding traffic in Ickleford, but we need to be sure that it's what our residents want.'
For further information, please contact Miles Maxwell at Ickleford Parish Council (01462 434538, miles.maxwell@icklefordpc.com).
What do you think?
You will need to sign in to post a comment to this article. if you do not have an AboutMyArea account, you can join now for free.
