Bovey Tracey Traffic Management -
Speed Management
Driver's
view crossing the bridge
Many drive this length much too fast.
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I
know that some may be surprised at this in the
context of the congestion that regularly appears
in the town centre; but there is definitely a
speeding problem outside congested times. Not
always, though often, young male drivers are seen
to pass through at 35-40mph and above in some
instances. The area by the Bovey bridge is the
most dangerous for this as visibility is short
over the bridge and many pedestrians walk in the
road. The
problem is all too apparent here as seen from the
vehicle.
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Along Fore Street the situation is
different; traffic is often reduced to single
line flow due to parked vehicles, but in the
absence of opposing flows, some drivers pass
these vehicles much too fast.
In
the short term I think we would all prefer not to
see humps or similar, but these may become
necessary if drivers do not comply with a
reasonable speed limit.
So I
have anticipated their possible need below.
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Looking
south away from Union Square
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The need for
speed control is dependent upon the exact location and
its characteristics, but I would suggest practical speeds
of 20mph or less for Fore Street and Union Square, 25mph
from Coombe Cross through East Street and between Monks
Way and Le Molay Littry Way.
Fore
St looking SW towards Union Square
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This
length of Fore Street, although slightly curved,
lends itself to speeding unless there is opposing
traffic. Twenty is Plenty here.
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Humps?
The only form of hump that
would be satisfactory in Fore Street is something like
this. In this instance it would not include the cycle
bypasses.
Below are pictures of an
H-hump in use in SW London. Wider vehicles such as buses
and fire engines climb using the longer more gently
sloped ramps.
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Although
this is one-way with the opposing flow on the
right,
the system can work with two-way traffic.
Note how the kerbline on the left is built out to
protect parking
and to give pedestrians a better view.
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The same looking across
The
longer side ramps are intended to give a smoother
ride for buses and emergency vehicles.
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Such a device could be
very useful in Bovey.
Clive Sawers - 25 September 2002
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