Wednesday, May 16, 2007

West Earlham Traffic Calming: Your Views?

At a residents meeting tonight, in Bowthorpe, there was loud criticism of the new road traffic calming in West Earlham. I was told that it damaged cars, didn't slow down traffic and disturbed the journey for disabled people.

During the recent campaign, the people I spoke to were very pleased with the result of the traffic calming and the only complaints were that certain streets were not included (like Enfield Road).

Let me say this clearly - I am not necessarily in favour of road humps as a method of traffic calming. They are often bad for the environment and can often be bad for people who are disabled or have back problems. I am usually more keen on changing road shapes and layout as a method of traffic calming. However if local people want something and there is clearly a majority in favour then it should go ahead.

So, has this traffic calming worked or is it a failure?

I'd love to hear your views.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think the speed humps are great. They work by cutting speed. Certain residents from Bowthorpe might complain as it is now more hassle to speed and rat run illegally through the Clover Hill bus route. It doesn't damage vehicles. Pot holes (quite a few in Norwich due to lack of maintenance and budget cash) damage vehicles more.

I beleive they are narrow 6 foot bumps so it is designed not to affect buses at 10 foot.

I wish other streets in this residential area were included.

They are obviously difficult if one drives a low profile Lamboughini! Is this not half the point.

I have no complaints, they do cut speed, I live on EGR and we do not see cars travelling at 40-50mph now, perhaps 25-30mph.

Residents will get used to it. It is better than a childs death.