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BOROUGH OF POOLE
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – thursday 30 NOVEMBER 2006
REPORT OF ACTING HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
ON SPEEDING IN ROSSMORE ROAD
1.Purpose of the Report and Policy Context
1.1To consider a request to reduce speeding in Rossmore Road.
1.2The Council’s Transportation Strategy aims to achieve a reduction in injury accidents on our roads.
2Recommendation
2.1It is recommended that the concerns of the petitioners be noted and that they be advised that :
(a)Improved signage will be investigated at the locations where a number of accidents have occurred
(b) this site will be forwarded to the Dorset Road Policing Unit and Dorset Safety Camera Partnership for consideration of speed enforcement.
3Background Information
3.1A number of letters have been received from the East Alderney & Rossmore Resident’s Association, signed by 7 residents, who live in roads in the local area but none of whom live in Rossmore Road itself.
3.2The letters state: “As a resident of Rossmore, Poole, I am extremely concerned about the level of speeding traffic in Rossmore Road. There have been several accidents recently on the bend approaching Worrel (sic) Drive and Tyneham Avenue. May we see some safety measures installed in Rossmore Road before a death occurs” (sic).
3.3Rossmore Road is around 1.75 Kilometres in length and runs generally east-west between Herbert Avenue and Ringwood Road (See Appendix B for a general Layout). Around 260 properties have direct frontage onto the road. The first 800 metres or so from the junction with Herbert Avenue are traffic calmed but the remainder is largely clear apart from some traffic islands. Around 2,500 vehicles a day use the road. This compares nearby with about 22,000 vehicles a day using Herbert Avenue and over 19,000 vehicles per day on Ringwood Road. Some traffic undoubtedly uses Rossmore Road as a cut through to avoid the Ringwood Road / Herbert Avenue double mini-roundabout.
3.4The road traffic collisions records for the 4 year period up to the end of July 2006 indicate that there have been 12 crashes resulting in 19 personal injuries along the road. A summary of these collisions is set out at Appendix A. The most significant collision “hotspot” along the road is currently at the Worrell Drive junction where 5 of the total of 12 injury crashes have occurred.
3.5Speed surveys carried out in October 2005 indicate that average vehicle speeds in the “un-calmed” section of Rossmore Road are around 27 mph and 85th%ile speeds are around 31 mph.
3.6On the basis of the criteria by which the Road Safety Engineering programme is currently targeted, it would not be possible to justify funding significant traffic calming measures in this stretch of Rossmore Road – particularly as not all of the accidents are speed related. However given the cluster of accidents which have occurred here there may be scope for improving signage etc. to warn drivers approaching the Worrell Drive bends and this will be investigated and funded as appropriate from the programme.
3.7In addition this matter will be passed to the Road Safety Tasking and Co-ordinating Group (TCG) for attention. The TCG meets on a monthly basis and its members comprise the Dorset Police, Fire & Rescue and Ambulance Services, as well as the Road Safety teams of Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset County Council and the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership. It aims to prioritise its members’ resources in tackling casualties across the County. The TCG considers all operational aspects of casualty reduction and will take the petition into account when it deploys its speed enforcement resources.
STEVE TITE
Acting Head of Transportation Services
Appendix A - General Layout Rossmore Road
Appendix B – Casualty Statistics 2002-2006
Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact:
Martin Baker (01202) 262073
Background Papers - none
23 October 2006
TAG301106T3D
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Appendix A – Rossmore Road General Layout (Stars indicate locations of Personal Injury Collisions)
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