Transport Safety Policy - Worcestershire County Council

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with trailers. Special consideration needs to be given to their siting and also the chosenlayout of a speed table can have an effect on such matters.: Used with dropped kerbs at points in the carriageway where it is consideredsafer for pedestrians to cross the road. Tactile paving helps partially sighted pedestrianswhere the colour and texture of the surface improves the pedestrians awareness of thesituation.: Different types of signs are required to warn drivers of various trafficcalming devices. An example of this is a series of speed tables where road hump signs arenormally placed on each approach to the scheme.: Zebra crossings can be used as an alternative to pelican crossings wherepedestrian crossing movements are not as frequent and where traffic is generally travellingat a lower speed. Their safe use relies on the judgement of both motorist and pedestrians.Zebra crossings are introduced with zig zag road markings which prohibit parking near tothe crossing point. It can therefore be inappropriate to introduce a zebra crossing wherevisibility is poor.New developments should follow the guidance in Manual for Streets in terms of roadlayout and design. The aim in residential streets should be for lower speeds, 30mph or20mph with appropriate design for pedestrians and cyclists, with a particular focus on theneeds of childrenWorcestershire County Council will consider both established and innovative measures toencourage appropriate speeds for locations where this is currently an issue.2.5.2 Highway Safety Audits are carried out on the designs of all new highway schemes or alterations tothe existing network in order to minimise any future road safety problems. These opportunitiesrepresent excellent value for money with modifications suggested before the changes becomelive. Additionally, even a scheme with an overall purpose for perhaps relieving congestion whenconsidered alongside a known collision history can further result in an overall reduction incasualties. To assist in this process, a 'Programme Management Board' is in place, through which allhighway works across the county irrespective of their origin, can be viewed by the department tominimise duplication of resources.The Worcestershire Highway Safety Team will carry out safety audits on the designs of all newhighway schemes or alterations.
2.5.3 The influence of these signs on vehicular speeds has been found both through national and localresearch to have an excellent initial effect, with overall speeds down, but then slowly rising over aperiod of time. Due the the high cost of these signs and concern that proliferation of the signswould result in driver complacency, Worcestershire will only deploy VAS at locations with aknown collision and speed related history. In particular, careful choice of sign size and location areessential to ensure optimum effect.Criteria for installation of VAS using Worcestershire County Council funding:A minimum of two injury collisions of which at least one is a killed or serious injury (KSI)accident or four slight injury accidents within a 1km stretch which have occurred over thelast three calendar years.The speed limit is exceeded by at least 20% of all vehicles, and the 85%ile of the speedsare at or above the speeds specified in the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)national guidelines for speed enforcement, that is 10% plus 2mph. e.g. 35mph in a 30mphlimit.All other traffic management methods e.g. signing and lining have already beenimplemented at the site.An engineering solution is not possible.Criteria for installation of VAS using external funding:Funding is provided externally which covers ongoing operational and maintenance costsThe signs are regularly redeployed within the District area and the total number of signsdoes not exceed the District limit of two.The external partner is able to take on operation of the signs (eg; redeployment)The site is booked electronically (a system to be introduced and accessed through theInternet). This will have the advantage of knowing when and where such signs areoperational and allow a better monitoring of the scheme.Speed Indicator Devices are best suited to temporary sites to maximise their impact, whilstVariable message signs are more appropriate at fixed locations as they yield a positive effectover a longer period. It should be recognised that such installations are particularly expensive toprocure and maintain, so should be used sparingly, and only at locations where the highestbenefits would be derived.2.5.1 Worcestershire County Council has recently embarked on a process of employing portablesignage into areas of local concern. Initially ten units have been purchased; one each forWorcester City and Redditch, with all other districts having the use of two units. These signs canbe programmed to operate in a 20, 30 or 40 mph situation.
Page 1: Worcestershire Local Transport Plan
Page 6 and 7: Table 1.1 - The Transport Safety Po
Page 8 and 9: 1.1.7 The target audience for this
Page 11 and 12: 2.1.1 The Worcestershire Transport
Page 13 and 14: 2.3.1 The Speed Management Strategy
Page 16 and 17: 2.4.6 The Manual for Streets was pr
Page 18 and 19: 2.4.11 A large number of site speci
Page 22 and 23: 2.6.1 Speed remains a perpetual fac
Page 24 and 25: 2.7.4 The Road Safety Partnership h
Page 26 and 27: 2.7.7 A number of intervention sche
Page 28 and 29: To reduce thenumber of peopleslight
Page 30 and 31: Figure 3.2 - Projected Serious Inju

Transport Safety Policy - Worcestershire County Council

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