DEVELOPMENT SERVICES REPORT TO CITY CENTRE SOUTH AND EAST PLANNING AND HIGHWAYS AREA BOARD 19 NOVEMBER 2007 REPORT ON LONG LINE – EXPERIMENTAL TRAFFIC RESTRICTION 1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT 1.1 To present the findings of the trial restriction on Long Line, Dore. 1.2 To advise on a way forward to address accidents at the junction of Hathersage Road, Long Line and Cross Lane. 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 The junction of the A625 Hathersage Road with Long Line and Cross Lane in Dore has a high accident reduction priority based on the Council’s approved assessment method. Between 1 st November 1999 and 31 st October 2004 (the five year period considered at the outset of this investigation) there were fifteen accidents, which resulted in one fatality and twenty-one slight injuries. Location Plan of Long Line 2.2 A full accident analysis is set out in Appendix A. To summarise: • accidents involve drivers emerging injudiciously from both side roads, • the decision to pull out safely involves being aware of potentially conflicting manoeuvres of other vehicles at the crossroads, • a high proportion of elderly drivers were involved in the accidents, • vehicle speeds on Hathersage Road are not the main issue. 2.3 The broad solution is to reduce the difficulty of making the decision to pull out by removing the traffic emerging from the opposite side road, thereby reducing the number of potential conflicts. 2.4 The allocation of funding on schemes from the Local Transport Plan (LTP) Road Safety budget is determined by a calculation based on the history of injury accidents and whether a cost effective scheme is feasible. Major construction schemes like a roundabout, traffic signals or changes to create a staggered junction, are very costly, and would not represent value for money in relation to accident savings compared with other locations in the city. 3.0 THE IMPLEMENTED EXPERIMENTAL TRAFFIC SCHEME 3.1 The background to the implemented scheme on Long Line is set out in Appendix B. In summary, the trial restriction prohibits motor vehicles other than local buses, agricultural vehicles and emergency services from turning into the top of Long Line at the junction with Sheephill Road. Cyclists, walkers and horse riders are unaffected. Long Line has not been changed to a one-way road. 3.2 This scheme was proposed by residents following objections to a Council scheme to make Cross Lane one-way from its junction with Hathersage Road. Road Safety Officers and South Yorkshire Police indicated that the proposal relied solely on drivers’ compliance of the road signs, and that it was likely to suffer from widespread abuse. Officers continued to recommend the alternative Cross Lane proposal to Area Board. A Ward Councillor advised Area Board that they had undertaken a door-to-door survey on Long Line that showed overwhelming support for the scheme. On 15 th May 2006 Area Board resolved that the residents’ proposal should be implemented on a trial basis, as an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). Members wanted to give motorists in the area the benefit of the doubt and test their adherence to the traffic regulations. 3.3 If the restriction was observed, traffic flows on Long Line and at its junction with Hathersage Road would drop – as would the potential for collisions. The disbenefits of the scheme are lengthy alternative routes, reduced accessibility and the potential for driver abuse. 3.4 The purpose of the trial then, was to determine if motorists would comply with the restriction. This trial could also provide very useful research information on drivers’ attitudes and compliance, and the effectiveness of this type of ‘sign only’ restriction in an isolated location. 3.5 The trial scheme was implemented on 12 th February 2007 and traffic counts were carried out at locations around the area to measure traffic on Long Line, traffic going through the restriction, and diversions onto alternative routes. 3.6 Contact details were collected from everyone who showed an interest in the proposals to create a database of potential consultees. The Council installed road signs in the area inviting motorists who use Long Line to contribute to the consultation too. This enabled Officers to collect the views of typical users of the road. All consultees were sent a letter explaining the trial and how it would operate and a questionnaire on their attitude to the trial restriction. There was an excellent response with over four hundred and fifty completed questionnaires being received. 4.0 OUTCOME: TRAFFIC FLOWS 4.1 The full discussion of traffic data results is shown in Appendix C. Traffic Flow Down Long Line 4.2 The graph below shows the public’s compliance with the restriction. It plots how many drivers per day drove down Long Line before and after the restriction was introduced. The flows during the school holidays have been omitted as the traffic decreases at these times and are not comparable with normal flows. The numbers of exempted vehicles on the road were low. In summary: • The flow down Long Line from Sheephill Road was 1235 vehicles per day prior to the restriction. • When the restriction was implemented, only half of drivers complied with it. • During the first week, over 4000 drivers broke the law by ‘failing to conform with the Traffic Signs’. • Since implementation, the number of drivers breaking the law steadily increased. • Most drivers (64%) currently ignore the signs. Traffic Flows On Alternative Routes 4.3 Six hundred vehicles per day have been removed from travelling down Long Line. The majority of displaced traffic continues down Sheephill Road to the junction with Hathersage Road, increasing this peak hour flow from 160 to 260 vehicles. Most of these vehicles turn left onto Hathersage Road and right into Cross Lane. The numbers are not significant and have given no cause for concern at the junctions. The numbers making the left turn towards Long Line have not changed; this suggests that most residents of Long Line ignore the restriction and do not take the longer alternative route. 4.4 A small proportion of motorists have transferred their route to Ringinglow Road, and the additional vehicles appear to feed out through the Bents Green area without any problems. A resident expressed concern that Broad Elms Lane and Whirlow Lane might be adversely affected by traffic trying to feed back to Ecclesall Road South, but traffic counts here show that speeds and flows have remained largely unchanged. 4.5 There has been a modest increase in traffic turning right from Sheephill Road into Hathersage Road and then using Whitelow Lane down into Dore. Following implementation of the ETRO, a member of the public reported increased traffic down Whitelow Lane to the detriment of horse riders. The vehicle numbers however are still very low, and within suitable levels for the nature of the lane, for example, an increase during the peak hour from three vehicles in six minutes to four vehicles in six minutes. 5.0 OUTCOME: PUBLIC CONSULTATION 5.1 A total of 472 completed questionnaires were received. The results of the survey are shown in Appendix D. The questionnaires did not include name and address information, so it is not possible to identify views of Long Line residents. Many phone calls, emails and letters were also received which broadly expressed similar views. 5.2 The survey results show that: • 85% do not want the restriction to be made permanent. • Of those that complied with the restriction, 62% said they would stop observing the restriction due to the abuse that was already evident. • Of those that did not comply with the restriction, 80% said they would continue not to, even if everyone else did observe it. • 75% did not want to see the restriction enforced by Police. 5.3 It is very clear that the restriction is extremely unpopular; about half ignore it; more people will ignore it, and that most people have decided to break the law. 6.0 OUTCOME: OTHER ISSUES 6.1 When the scheme was agreed, South Yorkshire Police stated that, “enforcement will be carried out when resources permit”. Officers have been informed that the Police have not actively enforced the Long Line ETRO. 6.2 The lack of public support for the restriction, the remoteness of the location and the limited likelihood of Police enforcement, led to high levels of abuse of the ETRO. Additionally, once the public realised that there was little enforcement, the abuse started to rise and flows down Long Line are increasing towards the original levels. 6.3 Prior to the ETRO being implemented (and thus Long Line traffic being displaced to Sheephill Road), a request had been received for an HGV ban on Sheephill Road, as it was believed that the number of HGVs using the road caused the road surface to deteriorate. An HGV ban would only normally be considered if they made up greater than 10% of the traffic along the road. Traffic counts show that HGVs make up less than 2% of the vehicles on Sheephill Road and, with some of these seeking access to local premises, a restriction is not considered to be appropriate. 6.4 Petitioners to Board on 21 st August 2006 expressed concerns about speeding on Long Line. These concerns were referred to the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership. No speed enforcement has been undertaken, as it did not meet their criteria for deployment. South Yorkshire Police have also been unable to commit resources to enforcing the speed limit there. Monitoring since implementation of the ETRO shows traffic speeds to be unchanged. 6.5 There have been a number of references to water run-off that, at wet times, issues from a field and across Sheephill Road, the concern being that during the winter months this may freeze and cause a hazard.