PFD - Portfolio Holder Decision Councillor Leverett - 14 October 2004 - Reduce Queuing

BOROUGH OF POOLE

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY GROUP – 14 OCTOBER 2004

REPORT BY HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

ON A PETITION TO REDUCE QUEUING ON BELBEN ROAD

1.Purpose and Policy Context

1.1To consider a petition to improve the exit for vehicles from Belben Road onto Ringwood Road, Alderney.

1.2The Council’s Transportation Strategy aims to achieve efficient use of the existing road space.

Recommendation

2.1It is recommended that:

(i)the petition be noted,

(ii)that the petitioners be advised that the timing alterations recently made to the nearby pedestrian signals and that a new detector loop will be installed in Belben Road shortly,

(iii)that a Yellow Box Marking Order be advertised.

3.Information

3.1A petition has been received from residents in the Alderney West Ward, signed by 190 residents representing around 150 households from the area surrounding the local newsagent on Belben Road.

3.2The petition was received at the Council Meeting on 21 September 2004 and reads:-

“To Poole Borough Council. We, the residents of Alderney West would like you to sort out the traffic problem we have in Ringwood Road to the Mountbatten Arms Roundabout. We cannot leave our estate to merge with Ringwood Road due to the traffic being gridlocked. Emergency vehicles are also having difficulty to get (sic) through the gridlock, the lights at the crossings also do not work. Can something please be done to rectify our problem.”

3.3The layout of the junction of Belben Road and Ringwood Road was not altered when the nearby Mountbatten Arms Roundabout was signalised in June 2004. Belben Road is the only exit point for the whole estate and has been since the Canford Way dual carriageway was constructed in 1984.

3.4Prior to the roadworks, local motorists were familiar with the system whereby if they were waiting for any length of time on Belben Road then traffic on the main Ringwood Road would be stopped at the nearby pedestrian crossing. The so called ‘gap creation’ facility comes in if vehicles wait for longer than a predetermined time at the Belben Road junction by putting a ‘demand’ into the nearby pedestrian crossing facility. It operates by means of two sets of vehicle detector loops at the junction, one in each traffic lane. While the loop on the inside lane is positioned to detect the first vehicle waiting at the give way line, the loop in the outside lane detects the second vehicle back. It is proposed that this latter loop be recut to detect the first vehicle waiting in the outside lane also. If any vehicle leaves the junction within the set waiting time period the demand is cancelled until another vehicle waits.

3.5This ‘gap creation’ facility was temporarily switched off whilst traffic signal engineers dealt with the demands of balancing traffic flows into and out of the Mountbatten Arms Roundabout.

3.6It was originally intended that with signal operation introduced at this roundabout there would, at regular intervals, be queuing traffic in this section of Ringwood Road at peak times - albeit that it would clear very quickly before the lights changed again - where Belben Road vehicles could be let out, so that the gap creation facility would not be needed.

3.7A number of residents contacted local Ward Members declaring that they had severe difficulties getting out of the Belben Road junction. Traffic queue surveys indicated that the maximum peak-hour waiting time at the junction was 100 seconds, so a decision was taken to switch back on the ‘gap creation’ facility but with an increased wait time of 60 seconds. As a result of an on site meeting between local Ward Members and traffic engineers, this wait time was reduced back to 40 seconds.

3.8A follow-up queue survey undertaken on 22 September 2004 it was found that the maximum waiting time at peak hours had further reduced to 52 seconds.

3.9These measures have subsequently improved the junction for local residents but in light of the petition it is recommended that a Yellow Box (Keep Clear) Marking be made. It should be noted that at the meeting with Ward Members several local residents expressed doubts that this would be effective in helping them exit the junction.

JAMES T BRIGHT

Head of Transportation Services

Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact:

Martin Baker (01202) 262073

28 September 2004

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