Essex Traffic Monitoring Report 2005 This document is intended to provide an indication of current traffic flows on Essex roads. It may be used for genuine research or for educational purposes, provided a reference to the source is given, but may not be used for commercial purposes without further approval, for which a licence fee may be payable. Although every attempt is made to achieve accuracy, neither Essex County Council nor its employees may be held liable for errors of fact or interpretation. Copyright © Essex County Council 2006 £50 where charged CONTENTS Index of tables and figures 1 Executive summary 1.1 Traffic trends 1 1.2 Traffic flows and composition 1 1.3 Network performance 1 1.4 Cordons and screenlines 2 1.5 Schemes opened in 2005 2 1.6 Specialised monitoring 2 1.7 Information sources 2 1.8 Further detailed information 2 2 Introduction 2.1 Purpose of the report 3 2.2 Background 3 2.3 Traffic reduction - Policy context 4 2.4 Why reduce traffic levels? 4 2.5 Mechanisms for achieving traffic reduction targets 5 2.6 Traffic reduction targets 6 2.7 Monitoring 6 2.8 Databank 8 2.9 Data requests 8 3 2005 Network performance 9 4 Traffic flow trends 4.1 2004 to 2005 11 4.2 Vehicle kilometres 2005 11 5 Longer term traffic trends – 1990 to 2005 5.1 Motorways 12 5.2 Strategic Trunk Routes – Non-Motorways 13 5.3 Strategic Non-Trunk Routes 14 5.4 Regional Routes 15 5.5 County/Urban Distributors 16 6 Manual cycle and pedestrian monitor 18 7 Automatic cycle monitor 19 8 Urban cordons and screenlines 20 9 Rural Screenlines 9.1 Changes 1993 to 2005 23 9.2 National trends 24 10 Opening dates of significant schemes 25 Appendix A - Glossary of terms Index of tables and figures Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 2005 Road hierarchy Figure 2.2 2005 Recorded traffic flows Figure 2.3 2005 Goods vehicles (OGVs) on Essex roads Chapter 3 Figure 3.1 2005 Network performance Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 2005 Vehicle kilometres Chapter 5 Figure 5.1 M11 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.2 M25 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.3 A12 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.4 A120 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.5 A127 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.6 A130 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.7 A131 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.8 A414 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.9 A128 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.10 A1017-A1124 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Figure 5.11 A1060 traffic trends 1990 – 2005 Chapter 6 Table 6.1 Manual cycle and pedestrian count summary Chapter 7 Table 7.1 Automatic cycle monitor – average daily flows Chapter 8 Figure 8.1 Growth index of traffic on urban cordons 1993 – 2005 Figure 8.2 Growth index of population 1993 – 2005 Table 8.1 Traffic trends - urban cordons and screenlines monitored 1993 – 2005 Table 8.2 Traffic flows - urban cordons and screenlines monitored 1998 – 2005 Figure 8.3 Location of cordons and screenlines Chapter 9 Table 9.1 Flows and trends on rural screenlines 1993 – 2005 Chapter 10 Table 10.1 Dates of opening - significant road improvement schemes 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Traffic Trends The traffic on Essex roads during 2005 shows an average increase of 1.5% compared with 2004 flows. The change in traffic between 2004 and 2005 on the various categories of road was as follows: Motorways (M11 only) + 3.1 % Strategic (non-motorway) Trunk Routes + 5.8 % Strategic Non-Trunk Routes + 0.5 % Regional Primary Routes + 1.2 % County/Urban Distributors + 0.2 % 1.2 Traffic Flows and Composition On the M25, the traffic flow on the link between the M11 and the A12 was over 130,000 vehicles per day in 2005. The flows on the M11 varied from just over 69,000 vehicles per day north of the A120 to just below 105,000 on the section between Harlow and the M25. Flows of over 88,000 vehicles per day were recorded on the A12 at Stanway. The new A120 between the M11 and Braintree, which was opened in its entirety in July 2004, carried flows of over 36,000 on the section north of Takeley. On the old part of the A120 the flow was nearly 40,000 vehicles per day on the section south of Braintree. Nearly 60,000 vehicles per day were recorded on the A13 and over 77,000 on sections of the A127. Flows of over 43,500 vehicles per day were recorded on the A130 between A127 and A13. The highest percentage of goods vehicles (OGVs, Other Goods Vehicles ie goods vehicles with gross vehicle weight over 1.5 tons) was found on the Strategic Trunk Route network with sections of the M11 carrying nearly 18% OGV traffic, the M25 nearly 17%, the A12 nearly 14% and the A120 between Colchester and Harwich over 13% of OGVs. On Strategic Non-Trunk Routes the proportion of OGVs was generally between 6% and 10% apart from on Dovercourt Bypass, where it was nearly 15%. On Regional Routes it was between 6% and 9% and on roads of lower hierarchy classification the proportion varied considerably but was, with a few exceptions, below 8%. 1.3 Network Performance The sections of the road network that in 2005 had a flow equal to or greater than the Congestion Reference Flow (see Appendix A - Glossary of terms) were: A12 Two-lane section west of Witham A12 Two-lane section at Ingatestone A127 A128 to B148 A127 Between A132 and A129 A414 Between Harlow and M11 A121 Woodridden Hill, Waltham Abbey A130 Canvey Way A132 Between South Woodham Ferrers and A130 A132 Between Wickford and A127 (Single carriageway section) A1168 Chigwell Lane, Loughton B1018 Langford Rd Maldon, between B1019 junction and Holloway Rd B1383 Between A120 and Stansted Mountfitchet - 1 - 1.4 Cordons and Screenlines Seven urban cordons and six rural, inter-urban screenlines, located across the county, have been monitored annually since 1993. Eleven additional cordons and screenlines were established in 1998, four urban cordons in 2001 and a further four urban screenlines were added to the programme in 2002. This data is collected by means of automatic counters for one week every year with each site being monitored in the same month each year. Of the urban cordons that have been monitored since 1993 Clacton Outer Screenline shows the largest increase with 24%. A comparison of urban cordons and screenlines between 2004 and 2005 shows a range from a 6.6% reduction on the Basildon Screenline, to a 7.1% increase on the Chelmsford Screenline. Of the rural screenlines the traffic flow on the Tendring screenline shows largest long-term growth with 31% increase since 1993. 1.5 Schemes Opened in 2005 No significant schemes have been opened in 2005. 1.6 Specialised Monitoring Specialist monitoring relating to highway use has been carried out. This includes: Manually Classified Monitoring Manual Cycle/Pedestrian Monitoring Automatic Cycle Monitoring Speed Monitoring Results from the cycle and pedestrian monitors are summarised in this report. More detailed information is available in a separate data appendix document. 1.7 Information Sources Acknowledgement is made to the Highways Agency (HA) for the supply of Motorway and Trunk Road automatically collected data used in this report and to CountyRoute (A130) plc for supplying automatically collected data from the A130 between A12 and A127. Also to Suffolk County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Southend- on-Sea Borough Council for supply of data on roads in their areas. 1.8 Further Detailed Information The base data used and summarised within this Traffic Monitoring Report is available within a separate data appendix document. - 2 - 2 Introduction 2.1 The Purpose of this Report is to: • Outline the requirements for traffic monitoring • Summarise the 2005 traffic flows recorded by automatic traffic counters within the county • Detail the volume of Goods Vehicles (OGVs) as a percentage of the total traffic flow on the county’s roads, as recorded in 2005 • Compare the 2005 traffic flows against Congestion Reference Flows to indicate the level of performance of key roads in the county • Show the level of traffic growth that has occurred between 2004 and 2005 by type/class of road in different parts of the county • Display the level of traffic growth that has occurred over recent years on various types of road within the county as an indication of longer term traffic growth • Report on the manual cycle and pedestrian monitors, carried out in Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow and South East Essex in 2005 • Report on the automatic cycle monitoring in Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford, Canvey, Harlow and Ashingdon, carried out during 2005 • Report on traffic growth since 1993 on cordons and screenlines within the county • Report on manual traffic monitoring in urban areas • Report on speed monitoring • Report on significant changes in the highway network in Essex since 1986 • Provide data which will be used to report on progress towards Local Transport Plan Objectives and Targets. 2.2 Background The Government’s 1997 Road Traffic Reduction Act and the 1998 Transport White Paper signalled a fresh approach to transportation in Britain, one that aims to cater for future travel demand in a more sustainable way. Subsequent guidance from the Government on the preparation of Local Transport Plans provided the framework for the preparation of sustainable transport strategies at the local level. In July 2000 the County Council produced a ‘Full’ Local Transport Plan (LTP) to bring forward the integrated transport agenda in Essex and reflect the Government’s White Paper.