The Abingtons - planning a bid for a 20 mph zone

Gt Abington parish council met this evening and discussed and agreed to support Little Abington if they bid for a 20 mph zone at the centre of the two villages near the school and the shop, just up the raod from these idyllic cottages. Lt Abington meet next week to finalise the bid. It will be important to have some recent data on speeds going through the village to back up the bid. I will pass on the police contact. 

There was also a discussion about the experieince of first responder teams in different areas. Where there is confidence in local NHS infrastructure i.e. GP surgeries and hospitals then 1st responders are not too busy, but where that confidence is lacking, then teams are called out much more because people call 999 more often.

Meanwhile, Whittlesford's bid for speed reductions at Newton Road is a winner

I'm pleased that the bid made by Whittlesford Parish Council to the County under the Minor Highways Improvements Initiative has come up trumps. 

I spent two afternoons on the panel hearing all the bids - obv. I couldn't vote for my own villages - but the plans to get traffic to reduce speed coming into Whittlesford along Newton Road will be welcomed by residents and cyclists and equestrian-types all. The highways engineers are keen to work with the parish to find the best and most effective solution to the problem. 

Ickleton - Frogge Street 30 mph signs

I was at the parish council meeting at Ickleton last evening where I was glad to report that - having spoken to the county highways team about this last month - the engineers have agreed now to move the 30mph speed signs further out along Frogge Street. This means that the proposed speed calming pinch points can be installed where the local residents want them. So there is progress. The county has now started the consultation process for getting this done.

The county engineers have also agreed that the 20 mph zone can in principle cover the whole of the village rather than just the middle bit which has been a bone of contention going back a few months. I am pleased to have been able to get this sorted so that the prospect of the 20 mph zone might start to happen. 

Local traffic improvement bids

Sustauned by tea and biscuits, a small panel of county councillors, including me, spent a total of nine hours over two days listening to - and scoring - bids from parish councils seeking funding for local traffic improvement schemes.The quality of the bids varied, from ones where a residents survey had been carried out, to demonstrate local support, and which came with realsitic costings and evidence of engagement with the county's engineers on practical matters, to - well, let's just say - proposals very much in development.

Many villages across the southern part of the county were not designed for the speed and volume of modern traffic, and there was a good debate as to what actually works - whether displays that show your speed have any effect on people who know they are driving too fast but actually don't particularly care? Whether "buffer zones" which give motorists time to move from 70 to 40 to 30 mph do have an effect. Sometimes it is simply about moving the speed limit sign a bit further out so that people have a chance to slow down before it is too late. This is a good example where the signs are too close to the houses, which are just round the curve, hidden in the shadows.

You certainly come away with an encyclopaedic knowledge of traffic problems across the county by the end of it. We were well supported by the expertise of the highways officers. Results of the process are due in February. Good luck to all who bid.