Meeting with Mr Andy Wallace –Highways Engineering

September 15th 2015

Following the identification by the Parish council and parishioners of numerous issues relating to the road safety in and around Terrington St John. The Parish Council Chair organised a meeting between him and Mr Wallace-Highways Engineer West Norfolk Council.

The agenda items had been established and previously forward to Mr Wallace. These minutes reflect the discussion and actions agreed against each item for ease of reporting.

  • Yellow Lines repainted to make the legal outside the village store.
  • Response -The contractor employed to repaint the lines had not been able to do so due to vehicle parked in the road. It was agreed that action will be taken to notify and prevent vehicles from parking on a selected day with cones placed out to stop parking. Time and date to facilitate the repainting to be determined. Due for completion be end of October –latest.-ACTION ….Andy Wallace
  • There are 2 wooden bollards outside the storeon main road. We need a further bollard to stop people driving across the junction and parking on the pavement in front of the store and then creating a major road safety hazard as they reverse ‘blind’ into old Church road.
  • Response -There is no issue in adding a new bollard .Mr Wallace will undertake to check the safety and pedestrian access required and then proceed to install the additional bollard.- ACTION ..Andy Wallace
  • Parking along main road and old church road is a perennial problem however we –the Parish council are developing a local community plan whereby several proposals to make safer the pathways and car parking in old church road are being considered.
  • Response-Extension of the footpath from the entrance to the village car park to Main road along by the Pharmacy, Fish and shop and village store is feasible. Funding from the Parish Partnership scheme will be allocated to undertake the work .The safety team will be contacted by Mr Wallace to confirm feasibility and then if acceptable the request to undertake the work will be instigated.–ACTION….Andy Wallace
  • The extension to the yellow lines from the Village car park entrance along both sides of Old Church Road and into Main road with an extension in there length will be considered for investigation.
  • Response- this can be instigated in conjunction with the extension to the path in Old Church Road.-ACTION….Andy Wallace
  • The SAM2 speed cameras are providing very concerning data. Max speed into the village via school road-90MPH –this is 30 mph zone! Average speed is around 40 mph-again 30mph zone. Several significant over speeding results have been captured.
  • Response and discussion-The speeding issue is a common problem in the area. The level of data available from the Terrington St John SAM 2‘s is quite low at the moment (only 4 weeks data at the time of the meeting), although the absolute volume of traffic reported is surprising.(The volume of vehicles driving through the village appears to have increased of late. Data gathered from the SAM 2 equipment should support this perception over time).

It was agreed that we would collect at least 3 months’ worth of data and then present it formally to Mr Wallace. Meanwhile data from the initial 2months will be supplied at the end of September. -ACTION. Mr Clifton

  • A significant issue is that of HGV’s. The majority of the 30 plus parishioners who attended the meeting this week were complaining and understandably very concerned about - time of operation: number: size: speed and vibration levels of the HGV’s driving through the village and down school road in particular.HGVs have been observed speeding along by the school whilst the SAM2 has shown their speed to be in excess of 37 MPH. Obviously there is need for HGV traffic to support the local community, and those operating within the village, but we now seem to have a rat run situation.
  • Response -School road is identified as preferred route as it offers the most practicable routing in the area. However the speeding concern along school road of HGVs and small business vehicles can be nullified to a degree by the instigation of the speed watch scheme .In other locations in the area operating such schemes have been able to identify in HGV/business traffic and advised the company of the concern. This has had the outcome of reducing both speeding and use of the route. In terms of physical traffic calming measures whilst there are several options potentially available the selection and subsequent implementation must depend on the volumes of vehicles and of course the overall speeding issues.-ACTION…Supply of 3 months’ worth of SAM2 data. C. Clifton
  • The road surface and width together with that of the footpath along school road gives us concern. We have had vehicles fall off the road into the dyke in the last year. Given the issues raised what is the situation with the road being suitable in terms of its dimensions, substrate and surface to cope with the current traffic?
  • Response-There has been vehicles sliding into the dyke and remedial measures have been implemented in local areas of the road. The road structure itself is based on a long standing substrate which in common with other roads in area is subject to movement over time with use.

Again with absolute data on the traffic volumes a review of the road use, its safety and footpath extension could possibly be undertaken. Within this and other reviews being discussed the potential to develop new homes opposite the school will need to be by necessity, taken into consideration. The current school road traffic issues being discussed will be advised to the Planning teams by Mr Wallace. Mr Wallace advised he believed that there was a scheme in progress to upgrade school road –he will investigate to identify the status.-ACTION…Mr Wallace

  • The road speed along Church road into the village across the A47 is ‘National limit’-why?
  • Response. The road traffic criteria on which the establishment of speed limits operates has created this situation. There being no access points along this stretch of road the limit by default is National.-INFORMATION.
  • The request to move the Brown Church direction sign.
  • This is not a problem, indeed Mr Wallace believed, but will travel out to view the situation and arrange for any relocation.- ACTION. Mr Wallace

These minutes record the agreed actions from the meeting .There are several more detailed issues that can only be sensibly reported following a follow up meeting with MrWallace. We will obviously gather discrete data from the SAM 2 equipment and forward to Mr Wallace as agreed.

It is proposed that the follow up meeting should take place at the end of October when more significant SAM 2 data is available. Dateto be confirmed.

In the meantime C. Clifton will contact Mr Wallace to obtain updates on the agreed action for feedback to the Parish Council and parishioners.

C. Clifton. Chair - Terrington St John Parish Council.