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Extraordinary Meeting of the Council 7.30 pm Thursday September 28
At this meeting Councillors will discuss and vote on the Council's proposed responses to the representations received in the Reg 16 Consultation
Agenda & Papers Sep 28
Opportunity to help:
Two vacancies on the Parish Council
Completion of Audit and Inspection Rights:
Audit Opinion and Public Rights
Saving Money and being Green:
Free Householder Energy Advice from Groundwork East
Your Blue Bin: getting it right
Latest Guidance on what to put in your Blue Bin
Water Street Traffic Management Scheme
The Traffic Management Scheme installed on Water Street in 2019 as an experiment, ultimately led to the approval of a Traffic Regulation Order approved in 2021. During the initial experiment, temporary large signs & plastic bollards were put in place to prove the scheme. These were never intended to be a long-term solution. In the early days of the experiment, some drivers reported that the signage on posts caused a visual obstruction when travelling east to west. Those signage posts could not be placed on pavements which are extremely narrow. The signage posts are also not in keeping with the conservation area and their location in very close proximity to a number of listed buildings.
All of the above ‘constraints’ have been taken into account in a design for a final scheme drawn up by Suffolk Highways using permanent kerbing, Oak Posts and small low impact signage. This design also has to be proved by a trial to ensure its’ suitability. Data collection and analysis is being undertaken by 3rd party Independent Traffic Management Consultants appointed by Highways.
The aim of the trial is to guage:
- Traffic volume
- Traffic Type
- Traffic speed
- Driver behaviour before and after signage is changed
The trial commenced 17th January 2023 and involved the installation of Video Cameras and Traffic flow monitoring equipment to record road use before signage and road markings were removed on 30th January. This was followed by a further 2-3 weeks of data collection. During this period there were local planned road closures which led to Water Street being the official diversion route. This has caused the official trial period to move back to 6th to 20th March. There are no planned local road closures or school holidays between those dates. This extension of the trial period is at no cost to the Parish Council.
Following completion of the monitoring, analysis will take place of the footage by the Traffic Consultants and a report will be produced in conjunction with Suffolk Highways. This will include recommendations. This will be presented to the Lavenham Parish Council for review and agreement of next actions.
A decision will then be made on what happens with the signage, whether any is replaced and how this affects the final design.