New speed cushions to help reduce accidents and calm traffic in Halton
Lancashire County Council is due to discuss plans to introduce traffic calming measures in the village of Halton.
A report to the council’s cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 7 outlines proposals to install speed cushions on Church Brow and Halton Road and reduce traffic speeds to create a 20mph zone.
The measures have been put forward after there were 10 collisions causing injuries in five years along this route, two of which were fatal.
Consultation and formal advertising of the proposals were undertaken in March. Two responses raised concerns: that speed cushions could detract from the historic character of Church Brow as Halton is a conservation area, the impact of increased noise and vibration, and suggested reductions of traffic volume and HGV movement.
County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Road safety is vitally important to us and this area was flagged up as having a high number of accidents in a five year span, tragically with two of them fatal.
"It is so important that when we see patterns of incidents emerge, that we take a proactive stance and do all we can to stop these accidents from happening.
"I'd like to thank those who responded to the consultation.
"To respond to some of their concerns, I'd like to reassure them that the speed cushions would be constructed from black road surface material, with a simple triangular road marking on the approach side, so they are not very intrusive in their look.
"Studies on speed cushions by the Department for Transport show that for smaller vehicles, noise levels were reduced substantially due to the change in vehicle speeds and vehicle flows were reduced by an average of 24% after schemes were introduced.
"Lancashire County Council takes road safety very seriously. Installing speed cushions and reducing the speeds to 20mph will definitely help to make the area safer for everyone who uses this road."