Traffic and road safety schemes

The consultation period is now closed, please use the following links to view the Consultation Summary and the Speed Cushion Location Plan:

• Download the Wombridge Road Speed Cushion Location Plan.
• Download the Wombridge Road Consultation Summary.

The installation of speed cushions has been driven by the community. The council have received numerous requests over the years to install some form of intervention in order to tackle the inappropriate speed of drivers using the route.

Traffic surveys carried out in 2019 and 2022 both showed the 85% of traffic speeds to be around 34mph.

This, coupled with a number of serious collisions in 2018, 2019 and 2022, a history of collisions at the junction near the Co-Op and the calls from the community, in 2022 the council carried out a wide scale consultation with a letter drop and a day-long community event at the parish council offices where two options were proposed.

The installation of speed cameras is a matter for West Mercia Police who have previously indicated that Wombridge Road does not meet the criteria for such an installation.

In addition to this, fixed speed cameras do not have a speed reducing effect along the whole route in the same way as the cushions are providing, with average speed cameras being reserved for high volume critical routes due to the very high cost in installation and ongoing operation.

Due to the limitations on what can technically be achieved on Wombridge Road, these options were:

• Buildouts / chicanes, with priority give way
• Speed cushions

In processing the responses from the public consultation, it was clear that speed cushions were marginally the more favoured measure of the available options. We appreciate that not everyone was in favour of this option, however, there was a need to bring forward a scheme that mitigated the concerns being raised in relation to excess speed and safety whilst trying to find the right balance in terms of public opinion.

The aim of speed cushions of this nature is to space them in a way that vehicles maintain a lower speed throughout the extents of the scheme and discourage the sharp acceleration and braking that you may see with other forms of vertical traffic calming features.

Further to this, we appreciate the concerns in relation to vehicle damage, however we are not aware of any evidence that shows speed cushions cause any particular increase in wear and tear on a vehicle over and above normal everyday road use when driven over with the care and in accordance with the restrictions of the road.

The size and height or speed cushions are regulated to ensure they are fit for purpose and do not cause any unnecessary harm to vehicles or people but do encourage reduced vehicle speeds.

The features we have installed conform to these regulations in that they are a maximum of 75mm / 3 inches high in the middle, which is well below the minimum vertical clearance required for vehicles conforming to the legal requirements set out in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations.

We will monitor the effects of any potential changes in traffic flows on surrounding routes as part of our normal post-scheme validation however we do not feel that significant volumes of traffic will divert on to Church Road or surrounding estate roads.

For a number of years, concerns have been raised regarding traffic flows and vehicular speeds on Horton Lane. Significant investigations were undertaken in 2011, 2015 and again in 2017 where, unfortunately, on each occasion we were not able to reach a consensus with residents of Horton Lane and the wider community. Subsequently a scheme wasn’t taken forward at each of these consultations.

In 2020 an experimental point closure (Prohibition of Driving Order) was installed and has been under review since. The scheme is currently supported by a Traffic Regulation Order which has replaced the initial Experimental Traffic Order. The experiment has achieved its original aims, which were to remove rat-running along Horton Lane, however this has been at the expense of slightly longer journeys for those living north of Horton Lane.

It is noted that travel patterns are still recovering due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has impacted on use of the road network in the experimental period. As such, and to ensure that the full effects of the Order on the community can be taken in to account, particularly around the congestion on other routes, the scheme review period has been extended to June 2023

As part of this extension of the review period, we are continuing to seek public views on the subject through an online survey which can be accessed below. All responses received will be reviewed and a final decision on whether to maintain the closure or revoke it will be made in the Summer of 2023.

The consultation period is now closed.