A FREEDOM OF Information request has revealed the number of fatalities and accidents that have occurred on Aveley High Street.
Funnily, enough, someone recently posted a photo on facebook which some residents protesting re lorries on Aveley High Street, in 1978!
Here is the request and here is the answer.
Questions
1. How many personal injury road traffic accidents recorded for Stifford Rd, Aveley/High St, Aveley/Ship Lane, Aveley between 01/01/02 and 01/01/12.
2. How many fatal road traffic accidents recorded within same period, and same locations.
3. What the rationale was in imposing the 20mph speed limit in those locations.
4. Why the particular style of road humps were installed as they are presently in those locations.
The numbers of accidents that have occurred on High Street, Aveley; Stifford Road, Aveley; and Ship Lane can be summarised as follows: –
High Street, Aveley – 16 accidents resulting in 20 casualties. Three accidents resulted in serious injuries and one accident resulted in a fatality.
Stifford Road, Aveley – 4 accidents resulting in 5 casualties. One accident resulted in serious injuries.
Ship Lane, Aveley – No recorded accidents within 103m of the High Street junction.
The underpinning idea behind 20mph zones is that the speed limit – if adhered to – should represent a decent chance of survival and also a low risk of severe injury if an accident occurs between a vehicle and child pedestrian. In built up residential areas where there are likely to be young children, and there is a risk of pedestrian and vehicle injuries, 20mph represents the best compromise between mobility and risk.
20mph zones significantly decrease the risk of being injured in a collision and their greater use, especially in residential areas, would help to reduce the number of traffic injuries in the borough and indeed, the UK.
Thurrock Borough Council is responsible for determining where 20mph zones are implemented, and in this instance The High Street and Stifford Road were investigated for a 20mph zone as a result of Aveley Primary School including this on their School Travel Plan and as such, the scheme was put forward for prioritisation under the Safer Routes to School category.
Following initial site investigations, the commissioning of traffic speed and volume surveys and accident history analysis, the scheme successfully made the 2011/12 Integrated transport Programme and the scheme was installed to improve road safety for pedestrians along The High Street and Stifford Road to encourage parents and pupils to walk and cycle to school, rather than rely on the private car.
20mph zones use traffic calming measures to reduce the adverse impact of motor vehicles on built up areas. The principle is that the traffic calming slows vehicles down to speeds below the limit, and in this way the zone becomes self-enforcing. Speed humps, chicanes, road narrowing, planting and other measures can be introduced to both physically and visually reinforce the nature of the road.
There are four main techniques to traffic calming programmes: –
Vertical deflections
Horizontal deflections
Road narrowing
Central islands
Vertical deflections in the carriageway are the most effective and reliable of the speed reduction measures currently available and it is for this reason that speed cushions were specified for the 20mph scheme. There are several different techniques available to achieve this:
Road hump
Plateau (speed table)
Cushion
Buses and larger vehicles regularly use The High Street and Stifford Road and as such full width road humps and speed tables are not generally accepted by bus companies and emergency services because of passenger discomfort and the increased response times these features can cause. It was for this reason that only one road hump was provided along the route. Speed cushions were provided elsewhere throughout the route as large vehicles are able to straddle cushions without discomfort and noise levels are considerably less.
Horizontal deflections in the carriageway are less effective than vertical ones in achieving reductions in speed.
Road narrowing was not an option for The High Street and Stifford Road due to the regular bus services and nature of vehicles servicing the shops within the High Street.
Central islands have only a limited effect on reducing speeds unless combined with another measure such as a chicane or speed cushions. They do, however, provide useful pedestrian refuges.
The 20mph speed limit was formally advertised under the statutory 21-day consultation process on 29th July 2011. The speed cushions and road hump were advertised on 22nd July 2011. No objections were received to the speed limit, speed cushions or road humps during this time.
