Traffic on The Slade

Fri 13 Oct 2017, 16:57

Jo - as per other thread, the County Council is the highway authority and the Town Council is currently waiting for their response on the 20mph proposal. The Town Council isn't the highway authority and can't implement it unilaterally.

Fri 13 Oct 2017, 16:05

That's great news about the social club Martin. It would be another good news story if the Town Council implemented the 20 mph limit plan across the town, that was put before them by a former Councillor. I was walking through Park St the other day when a lot of cars were hacking there way through town on the evening commute, and had cars coming past me at what must have been 40mph+ within inches on what must be one of the narrowest Pavements in town. I fear what might happen if a child strayed only a few inches on the way to the pre school in that street.

Fri 13 Oct 2017, 08:51

It's happening - funding is in place for the traffic order (covered by a developer) and the signs (by the Town Council). All that remains is for the County Council, as highway authority, to agree to the extent of the 20mph limit - the County Council originally suggested just the 'historic centre' but the Town Council is asking that it should cover the Enstone Road crossroads/Hundley Way/Ditchley Road area too. Currently I believe we're waiting for the county's highway engineers to get back to us. There have been a few threads on it in the past if you type '20mph' into the search box.

Fri 13 Oct 2017, 07:46

Great idea, Hamish. Also suggested in a post on 25th September . . .

Thu 12 Oct 2017, 21:23

Thought I'd check the regulations on the signs and the 20 by the school is only an advisory speed and not mandatory (no red circle around the 20). The police would only be able to charge a motorist with something along the lines of dangerous driving and not speeding as there are strict regulations on the signage of mandatory speed limits. I've witnessed many drivers that would be classified as dangerous just before 9am and then also at 3pm and 4pm when many children (including mine) finish their after school clubs.
So, can we not turn parts of Charlbury into a mandatory 20 limit? Particularly the residential unclassified roads and around the school?

Wed 11 Oct 2017, 21:22

Will the updates on 'twitter' continue Jim?

Tue 10 Oct 2017, 11:15

You'll never know because the Hi viz are part of the requirement to participate & to comply with insurance.I take your point about the shrubbery...we'll get that cleared. These are the standard signs so we have to rely on them & drivers actually being aware of the road rules. Come & join us if you're motivated.

Mon 9 Oct 2017, 23:28

I don't disagree that it should be, or that it is, just that I don't think it is that obvious. On a quiet road the flashing lights will get people's attention. However, with cars parked all over the place (especially coming up the hill), shrubbery partially obscuring the sign (from Ditchley) and many additional pedestrians around I don't believe the sign is that obvious. Of course with all these additional hazards most people would slow down, but the issue is those that don't so are blind to the visual hazards, and therefore I would think blind to the signage as well.
I would be very interested to see how the Speed Watch results differed if you weren't wearing hi-viz jackets

Mon 9 Oct 2017, 22:48

Yes, either side of the school entrance, switched on by the crossing attendant, flashing lights indicate a 20 mph limit when operating. Other than that, it's 30 mph. Its very clear & unambiguous.

Mon 9 Oct 2017, 21:53

Are there 20mph repeater signs clearly visible in the 20mph zone outside the school? Otherwise it's a 30mph limit.

Tue 26 Sep 2017, 11:05 (last edited on Tue 26 Sep 2017, 11:08)

Liz, the CSW group are collating the data from our speedwatch sessions & providing this to the Town Clerk for information & to report through to the Neighbourhood Plan group. I can copy this to you but oerhaps streamlining the reporting through the TC is easier. Let me know. We have also reported around 60 speeding drivers to TVP for follow up. We're also getting support from TVP in running roadside checks, with 10 speeding fines (many to locals) handed out on Sunday. We will carry on with deterrence but some physical carriageway improvements in key locations on entering the town & particularly The Slade / Sturt Rd would benefit the town, especially taking account of increased housing & car ownership completed, in construction or planned.

Tue 26 Sep 2017, 10:28 (last edited on Tue 26 Sep 2017, 10:28)

This is clearly a matter of great concern and I think that best thing is for the Speedwatch team to let me know what their findings are. I can then use that evidence to get an officer from OCC to come out and look at what might be possible. However please be aware that not a lot is likely to get done. At the last council meeting we proposed prudential borrowing to tackle the growing problem of our appalling road surfaces - that was turned down out of hand. The amount of money available for road improvements is miniscule and it could be literally years before anything material is done if at all.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 23:58

SIDS ?" speed indicator device

SIDs accurately measure the oncoming vehicles speed and displays this value to the driver. A number of variations are available, including portable versions that can be carried and installed on different sites by a single person. The sign face itself can also display a number of different messages along with the speed.

SIDs are cost effective compared with road humps, chicanes and other expensive measures, they pose no problem for emergency vehicles, whilst noise and nuisance are totally absent.

Transport for London Street Management's Report on the Effectiveness of SIDS Reducing Vehicle Speeds concluded that SIDs are effective at reducing speeds, reducing speeds 200 metres downstream of the sign and a collision reduction of 5.6%.

This report also found that an efficient method of operating SIDs was to rotate them around several sites. Westcotec's portable SID is shown to be ideal.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 20:23

We did another session this evening between roughly 6pm and 7pm on the Spelsbury Road in the 40 limit. A lot of traffic was well over 40 mph... but just within the reporting limit. Beware, we'll be popping up all over the place. Keep your speed down and you won't get reported. Its not just speed that's a problem, we've spotted people letting kids out on cross hatches, people on mobile phones and clearly not paying attention or even seeing us at the side of the road in Hi Vis gear. Lots of tickets were issued to locals yesterday by the police. Don't be one of them.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 16:56 (last edited on Mon 25 Sep 2017, 17:14)

When flashing lights for school are on in morning and afternoon, and a big sign saying 20mph. It does seem to help a little.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 16:39

Overtaken by a cyclist going down hill when doing 30 mph - but overtook him on the up hill section ,no noise from the bike !

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 16:33

How about a "20's plenty" campaign in view of the proximity of the school?

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 15:48

A cycle lane wouldn't work at all, unless you are a keen cyclist getting up The Slade would be a nightmare, you would probably have to speed down it to get up the other side! it would only be suitable for the true lycra brigade. The best option is traffic calming, speed cameras are fine, but you will always get the ones who don't care. If this was placed near the bottom of the dip and people had to give way, then everyone would have to slow down, and would have to go up the hill in a lower gear.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 15:40

Helen and Richard's suggestion of adding a cycle lane to The Slade does absolutely nothing for the problems between the school and the Enstone Rd crossroads. And the link that Richard gives to the TFL site shows such an entirely different kind of road (flat, urban) that I can't really see how it applies to the Charlbury situation. I had the same problem with the link to the Oxford rat-run measures given in James' post.

On the cost of speed cameras, news reports state that the cost has come down pretty steeply since 2014 which was the date of the costings that Philip supplied. But I don't think we qualify for a speed camera on The Slade (given traffic flows and accident rates), even if we could afford one, so this is probably not worth pursuing further.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 13:32 (last edited on Mon 25 Sep 2017, 13:44)

Tim,

They ARE a real menace, especially to drivers of smaller, lower vehicles, it's just that the impact of them (forgive the pun) is spread over time. They are a not very effective blunderbus(with the emphasis on blunder!). They damage vehicles at well below 30mph. Much prefer chicanes or priority designations such as at Crawley.

Another device, used in Switzerland but not one I have seen here, is traffic lights that turn red if you exceed the limit by more than a very small margin. You and the vehicles behind get a 10 second stop/go penalty. Drivers very soon get in the habit of obeying the limit or incur the wrath of their fellow motorists.

There is already a Pelican crossing outside Londis, so maybe an experiment could be conducted there at relatively low cost?

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 13:22

Oh, and by the way, following "advice" from OCC Highways, WODC saw fit to grant planning consent to the following, despite objections from Charlbury Town Council.

publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=OGSC2ORKI0E00

A new access point off the Slade for 18 Sandford Park - opposite Blenheim Farm and just down from the speed indication device. Hard to think of a higher risk location in the whole town!

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 13:17

If speed bumps are a real menace to buses, and emergency vehicles such as ambulances then why do most towns have them ?
I'm not saying they are not a menace or that they don't damage cars of course they will if the driver decides to speed over them, if drivers swerve around them then make the road narrow with right of ways like in Crawley.
if they were a real menace they would be not allowed.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 12:11 (last edited on Mon 25 Sep 2017, 12:18)

Re Tim's point, speed bumps are a real menace not only to buses, but emergency vehicles such as ambulances.

They have little speed reduction effect upon a large, heavy 4x4, but a disproportionate effect upon smaller, lighter cars with less ground clearance. The former are a much greater threat to pedestrian safety.

They also have a cumulative detrimental mechanical effect upon vehicle suspension and lighting systems even among the law abiding population who make up the majority.

Coming back from Community Speedwatch this morning I observed parents parking on the zig-zags to drop off their kids and someone on their phone. Two facts that some people fail to recognise. 1.Road safety is not all about speeding. 2.Most of the offenders are locals.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:57

The biggest challenge with speed bumps is that drivers route around them. We saw that with the ones on Nine Acres Lane - people would drive through the centre of town, or along the little winding road through Taston (really), to avoid them. So unless you put speed bumps on every single road, it's not really solving the problem, just moving it.

Helen's original suggestion is actually the best one I've seen - paint an (advisory) bike lane on the uphill sections of the Slade. Not just because it would be beneficial to less confident cyclists, but because you could then narrow the lanes and remove the central hatching - either replacing it with a standard white line, or removing it entirely.

There's a really good study by Transport for London on the effects of this: content.tfl.gov.uk/centre-line-removal-trial.pdf . They found that removing the centreline on a busy through-road reduced speeds by up to 8.6mph on average. The study says:

"A theory is that centre lines and hatching can provide a psychological sense of confidence to drivers that no vehicles will encroach on 'their' side of the road. Centre line removal introduces an element of uncertainty which is reflected in lower speeds... it was noted on site that speeds of individual vehicles appeared to be particularly lower when they were passing other vehicles travelling in the opposite direction."

It might not work - but as an effectively zero-cost measure, I think it could be worth trying.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:52

For Christine's benefit (and others) here is the 2014 TVP contract award for the digital cameras - bit.ly/2fsDt0P .

If anything, this paper shows that my earlier figure is an underestimate. One also needs to add the cost of infrastructure works associated with each site e.g. power supply. There are cheaper cameras available, but they cannot be used for law enforcement if they do not have Home Office Type Approval.

I think that we need to keep a sense of proportion about all of this. While the Slade is the busiest road in Charlbury, it is not a busy road when compared with the Burford Road in Chipping Norton for example. The KSI data on Crashmap would not justify expense of a fixed installation. Even if there was a permanent camera housing, the actual device would probably need to be shared with other towns and villages in the TVP area.

That is not to say that there is no problem. TVP attendance this weekend and at other times with a speed camera van, as well as Community Speedwatch, are interventions that ought to get the message across.

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:39 (last edited on Mon 25 Sep 2017, 11:40)

Having a speed camera is not the best solution yes drivers would slow down as they approach it but then they would just speed up once they are past it, you would need to install the average speed camera's type,speed bumps should be the best way but as to the bus not liking them well do they complain about the ones in Witney enough to have them removed ?

Mon 25 Sep 2017, 10:19

Paul - Thank you for your understanding of the "Safety" aspect of this tread. Its amazing the number of people in Charlbury who knew nothing of this proposed vehicle access to be installed in The Dip just yards from the access from Hill Close. They are shocked as to how it was allowed. Well it has been! Those of us who live nearby still cannot understand the logic in this - and as already quoted can only lead "To accidents waiting to happen"
As to the "Speed" section - its seems all of the suggestions & research that have been posted here (now into the 40's) have become Null & Void the reasons being a) this road is on a 'bus route & b) the price of the camera.
Have we considered the extra traffic this road will take when all the new builds are complete? - most likely double the amount.
To turn right from Hill Close today is both extremely difficult and dangerous. With an extra access to deal with and extra traffic coming down the hills at speed the only way to leave here would be to install Traffic Lights - A Pipe Dream I fear!
Alan - Thank you for offering to co-ordinate neighbours in The Slade area and Hill Close. I see Jenny has agreed and Alice (who started this thread)myself and others in Hill Close are very interested. Many thanks.

Sun 24 Sep 2017, 23:05

I am not sure where Philip gets his costs from. These have dropped greatly in recent years. According to Truvelo, makers of some of the most modern digital speed cameras, the installation cost in 2017 is @£10,000 per camera (to buy and install), and the running costs are also low as the cameras require no film that needs to be removed and monitored.

I am still not sure that we would cover costs if we went for a camera, but let's at least have some up-to-date figures. And I would certainly prefer a camera to speed humps or chicanes -- neither of which seem to me to be sensible on a through road which includes a steep hill, especially in winter when ice & snow make The Slade hazardous.

Sun 24 Sep 2017, 17:59

The infrastructure for a speed camera costs around £50k and much the same again for the camera itself. Before wasting huge sums of money on a speed camera anywhere in Charlbury, the County Council should face up to its statutory obligations as regards maintaining the public highway.

The sections of road outside the old Deli and down from Wellington Cottages are particularly disgraceful. I'm very surprised that the Tour of Britain was routed that way. Cllr Hudspeth deserves a rough ride!

There is every bit as much of a road safety issue surrounding illegally / stupidly parked cars as there is from speeding. A few folk on Station Hill didn't even shift their cars for the ToB!

Sun 24 Sep 2017, 14:06

I can't recall who said Claire but I believe they were considered too expensive although it appears it would soon recover the cost.

Sat 23 Sep 2017, 23:45

Wouldn't a speed camera on the Slade be the obvious solution?

Sat 23 Sep 2017, 14:54

It seems idle to add to what Jean and Jenny have already pointed out but, given how careful one has to be, pulling out of Hill Close, it is hard to understand how WODC Highways Department could possibly imagine it would be safe to allow vehicle access in the dip of the Slade. How is that not an accident waiting to happen?

Fri 22 Sep 2017, 21:39

Susie: they don't like to use speed hump on a gradient.
Liz: I don't see why buses can't follow a slightly winding path. "Chicane" makes it sound as if we are talking about extreme bends, but of course mild chicanes - and importantly removing the line of sight that creates the big dipper effect - should work fine.

Fri 22 Sep 2017, 15:50

Liz I don't see why traffic calming cannot be in place on The Slade just because the bus goes along there. The are traffic calming when you go into Witney can the bus goes along there.

Fri 22 Sep 2017, 15:39

What happened to Reg James excellent idea that the Town Council should support the idea of a 20mph speed limit throughout Charlbury? This would have the advantage of helping the whole town. Ideas to restrict speed on one road just push the problem elsewhere.

Fri 22 Sep 2017, 13:29

Met a resident from Market Street in the Charlbury Deli this morning who tells me that Market Street is plagued by speeding traffic especially after dark when traffic speeds become very high,I can relate to that as The Slade after dark seems to be a place where some drivers try and drive as fast as they can. This traffic speed issue seems to be a Charlbury wide concern as residents from other parts of the town have expressed their worries to me about traffic speeds.

Thu 21 Sep 2017, 16:52

Hi Alan, being a Hill Close resident, I would be happy to be involved. Once the access for the new property on Sandford Park has been built the traffic situation will get a lot worse. Its already difficult to pull out of Hill Close when there is traffic speeding down from both directions and adding another potential hazard to that mix will add to the chaos. Well done community speed watch for taking action.

Thu 21 Sep 2017, 16:01 (last edited on Thu 21 Sep 2017, 16:04)

I'm sorry to have been silent up to now on this topic, I've been away and only just caught up.

Last week an officer from the County Council came out with me and the Town Council to look at what can be done with various roads in Charlbury, including the Enstone crossroads which are a real hazard. There are a large number of issues which we are hoping to be able to address. However I must warn that physical traffic calming solutions such as chicanes or speed bumps are not likely to be considered as long as there are buses using the Slade. People may remember that we had speed bumps in the road on Nine Acres Lane some time ago and they had to be removed as they were too high for the bus to negotiate safely.

The best way forward is Speedwatch which several villages in this area are using. The police will only go on hard data and this is the way to collect it, so well done to all those who are volunteering for this.

Wed 20 Sep 2017, 10:02

My thoughts are that if we can mix various initiatives from residents who feel strongly about traffic speed in Charlbury we can raise the profile of the issue with local/district/county councils and police alike.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 22:38

Excellent, thanks Jim - I look forward to meeting you, Alan.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 22:01

Brian...Alan already volunteers with us.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 17:57

Alan, it's good that you are willing to get involved with addressing Charlbury's speeding traffic problem. The Slade is probably the worst place in Charlbury for excess speed but couldn't you join the Speedwatch volunteers who are trying to do something about reducing traffic speeds throughout Charlbury? There are several places where there is a problem.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 14:51

Thanks Simon. I'm sure you are right.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 14:12

Pearl: We'll post information here too, but I can tweet in seconds from the side of the road when I'm actively on a watch.

I understand that the advice we've received is that making people aware that we are monitoring speeds has a better effect than us setting up the detector and hiding! If folks know we're out and about at random times and places, the expectation is that generally people will slow down. The police will take action on the information they receive from us.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 13:47

I live on the Slade and would join an action group to focus on that particular part of Charlbury. It could work in partnership with the Speedwatch volunteers and the parish council to address speeding traffic issues. I would be happy to co-ordinate neighbors around the Hill Close part of The Slade.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 13:39 (last edited on Tue 19 Sep 2017, 14:19)

I can let you know that we will be supplying another 20 registration numbers to Thames Valley Police from those recorded travelling at up to 42 mph on the way in to the town this morning along the Enstone road. More sessions coming soon.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 11:31 (last edited on Tue 19 Sep 2017, 12:28)

Simon is there another way for those of us that don't do Twitter maybe on the charluryinfo/facebook page please I have only recently discovered.

Tue 19 Sep 2017, 09:36

The Speedwatch volunteers carried out another monitoring session this morning between 8am and 9am. We again recorded speeds well in excess of the prosecution limit. Details will be published later. For those interested I am tweeting the max speeds detected in each session at @speedwatchcharl on Twitter for those who might like to follow us. The equipment we use allows us to download and look at the results off line later which make fascinating reading. More volunteers welcome. Lets get the traffic speeds down in Charlbury together.

Mon 18 Sep 2017, 09:17

Picking up on various ideas - we need a group of fed up neighbours of The Slade & Sturt Road. Given that I started this trend I could organise it but I can't start until late October. So if someone else wants to get it started then that would be great.
My understanding is that all 3 councils have a responsibility - the County for the traffic safety issues, the District for the negative environmental impacts - noise, pollution and the Town for the care and welfare of its residents.
Pearl - I completely know what you mean about tailgating - it happens all the time and Hannen - I'm afraid that touching the brakes slightly (which is what I try) seems to enrage bad drivers even more, encouraging them to overtake!
Whilst I favour low cost solutions - the idea of planters in the road without proper warning and road markings fills me with fear - traffic goes at real speed especially at night and in the dark, obstructions in the road would not be visible.

Mon 18 Sep 2017, 07:28

I have suggested on another thread that we all use our spare black boxes as planters and spread them up and down the Slade - that should slow them down.

Mon 18 Sep 2017, 00:24

Re paying for planters, etc., as I said in my post further down this thread the cost would be down to us as a community. County Councillors used to have discretionary fund of £5k to spend on what they saw fit. I don't know if they still have that.

Mon 18 Sep 2017, 00:21

Oh Hannen, you need to start another thread for cyclist-bating, surely?

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 20:31 (last edited on Mon 18 Sep 2017, 07:39)

I was trying to to point out that when driving under the speed limit Hannen, which I was doing, some foolish impatient drivers attempt or do overtake you causing a dangerous situation. This has happened to me twice this week and also another lady in this thread and probably others. Therefore adding to the need for something to be done along the Slade with regard to traffic calming.

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 19:36

If someone is tailgating you just touch the brake slightly. Natural reaction is to fall back.
Cyclists - the modern ones, I have nothing against them except that it is slightly irritating at Fiveways to have them spitting and shouting. But it's usually just weekends. As for the sensible ones, I often give them directions - but that is another subject!
Speeds though? Shouldn't they be in a velodrome or whatever it's called? I drive under 30 mph - admittedly after my speed awareness course when I was caught driving at 33 mph in a 30 zone. Cyclists overtake me.
So far this year BBC have reported 3 deaths of pedestrians caused by speeding cyclists. I have also seen them cycling against the one way system.
I wonder what it is that makes (probably a very few) think that the Law doesn't apply to them?

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 17:28 (last edited on Sun 17 Sep 2017, 17:28)

Well I'm upset as felt harrassed coming down from Ticknell Piece again today with car trying make me go faster tailgating me. I was so afraid the same thing would happen as did other day when got overtaken. Driving automatic I have to break most way which seems aggrevate followers so what am I to do. You might say go back though town but that makes my journey home longer altho I have done that in past but shouldn't need to.

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 13:52

What does our County Councillor say? Liz, is tete any chance? I agree with the idea of small scale / low cost interventions but previous approaches have failed. Can we break the mould?

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 12:31

How much does the Council say they cost? Which of our 3 Councils doesn't have a couple of £1,000 for traffic calming? A bit of concrete? I will chip in something if we all do. It's a small price to pay for safety and health benefits.

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 11:40

I'm all in favour of the planters idea Alice as I'm sure are many others but this has been discussed before and the general feedback for any traffic calming measures in Charlbury is that the council have no money to do it.

Sun 17 Sep 2017, 09:56

I think it's interesting how many Charlbury residents are silent on this topic. Feeling a bit guilty perhaps? I still favour chicanes with planters on them - you see them all over France in their small towns and villages. They certainly slow the traffic.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 21:09

I also would like to thank the Community Speedwatch for taking the census in The Slade yesterday. As Alice commented your lovely yellow jackets were a give-away, to get 50o/o was amazing, as I have never seen so many red brake lights go on as soon as you were sighted - imagine your haul if you had not been seen! Unfortunately back to normal today - traffic breaking the speed limit continuously with the "slow down" seemingly never going off. It seems worse is to come for this very busy and dangerous road as the powerful WODC Highways Dept have granted permission for vehicle access from 18 Sandford Pk onto The Slade - right in the middle of the 2 hills (The Dip). This has apparently slipped the notice of many people in Charlbury - who now are expressing great concern. Can anything be done I wonder to minimize the dangers to come?

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 17:15

To add to the dangers on this stretch of road planning has been agreed to allow access onto the Slade from Sandford Park for a new house in the grounds of number 18 which will be at the bottom of the 'dip'. I'd like to see the cars travelling at 30 mph let alone 52 mph avoid a collision with a vehicle which they will not see until its on the road!No line of sight there.Highways department have seen fit to advise that they have no concerns.

publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=OUO57JRK01B00

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:52 (last edited on Fri 15 Sep 2017, 17:35)

I've also been overtaken on that road , probably for same reason Alice, just start to go up hill before the turn right to Dancers Hill and there was a vehicle coming towards him which he could not have seen initially and nearly caused a collision. It was very scary!

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:34

James, there are some great and innovative ideas on that site. I particularly like the 'mismatched socks bunting' suspended across a road. What a good use for those odd socks we all have. And we might even get a few matching pairs out of pooling them.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:22

We're going to be doing this in different locations on a regular basis. We're already planning the Enstone Road session Jo. Volunteers welcome to assist :)

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:20

I think the only way to slow traffic on the road would be to make the traffic lanes curved not straight and to remove the line of sight which makes the road look like a big dipper. The current design begs motorists to speed.
A friend of mine in Oxford did some DIY traffic calming on his street, 10 years ago now, which had a marked effect on speeds on a road that had suffered as a rat run. It was a lot of work getting the County Council and resident neighbours on board, but he did it and it was something of a triumph: www.wormworks.com/roadwitch/. If residents of the Slade were willing to come together to form a project group, and if the County were amenable, there is no reason why planters much larger than they used on Oxford could be sited along the roadside at intervals to create a) slight chicanes and b) remove the line of sight, making motorists want/need to go more slowly. The one thing to bear in mind with this form of calming is that you do not want to move kerbstones or drains. That is expensive. A bolt-on as I have described is cheap and effective. Rather than thinking of what I have described as a permanent solution, try thinking of it as a temporary experiment (with the right permissions of course) by exasperated residents. Two things I have observed about the County is a) they have a weakness for petitions and b) they are fairly open to trialling ideas to see if they work (PS: they'll take the credit if it does work and but they won't want to pay for anything).

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:15 (last edited on Fri 15 Sep 2017, 16:17)

The slade is not the only road that traffic speed through in Charlbury, the same happens in Enstone road, Park St and Nineacres, etc. At least on the Slade properties are well set back from the road and the Pavements are wide, mostly.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 14:47

Don't think a cycle lane would work as it would be too dangerous as you have to drive on the other side as it is when cars are parked on the side of the road when people are either dropping or picking there children up from the school

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 13:04

52 mph!! That is crazy. I hope the letters from the Police will be a deterrent and it will be interesting to see if the speeds decrease at all as the letters are sent out.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 12:36

I've also been overtaken on this stretch of road because I've only been travelling at 30 mph. Perhaps we could ask the County not to re-surface it any more. We could put up a sign warning of pot holes. I've never understood why we go to the trouble of smoothing the roads and then paying for road humps.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 11:29

It was very interesting taking part in the exercise. I've set up a twitter account where we will tweet our activities and update with information on where, and how fast we've clocked people. It can be found at @SpeedwatchCharl
Living on the Sturt Road/Slade stretch is blighted by the speed some people go. The noise when its wet especially, wakes us up in the mornings. Some of speeds people were going would lead to bans I suspect. If only we could have a fixed camera on this stretch - in both directions!

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 11:28

Just to say that the issues of road traffic management are the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council and similar suggestions have been made & discussed for many years. The data form these speedwatch sessions will go through the Town Council, to be used by the Neighbourhood Forum as evidence of the reality of speeds through Charlbury. Whether our austerity bound County Council can ever commit funds to carry out such work is for others to decide. Lets keep up the pressure though! We'll be continuing to collect the data and try to deter speeding.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 08:17

It sounds like a good idea to me. Only lycra cyclists use the road at the moment - they have no fear of speeding cars. It's far too dangerous for the likes of me.

Fri 15 Sep 2017, 07:11

I agree with Alice that we need some form of traffic calming on The Slade.
The fact that it is wide encourages speeding.
How about making it more friendly to non car users by adding a cycle lane up to the school from Fiveways store - which I realise would be little used but would narrow the road and add pedestrian refuges which would again slow the flow.

Thu 14 Sep 2017, 21:54

Thank you Community Speedwatch for a fantastic piece of work. Presumably the presence of you all in yellow jackets meant that much of the traffic slowed down when they saw you. Which is why you only caught 50% speeding. The noise of speeding traffic starts at about 5:30am and continues until about 10:30pm. How about chicanes to reduce the flow and speed of traffic?