PARWICH.ORG

The Traffic Management department of Derbyshire County Council recently responded to the Parish Council’s concerns regarding vehicle speed in the village. They would not implement a 20mph limit but were prepared to place additional 30mph repeaters in the village.

After this response was posted on the blog the Parish Council received a number of comments from residents and discussed the issue at its recent meeting. As a result the following reply has been sent back to Traffic Management.

The Parish Council also suggests that residents with views on this subject write directly to Traffic Management at

ETC.TrafficManagement@derbyshire.gov.uk

to emphasise their concerns.

To read the Parish Council reply

Dear Xxxxx, your response was shared on the Parwich Village Blog in advance of a meeting of Parwich Parish Council on the 21st of November.

The Parish Council discussed your reply and a number of comments made by residents.

The Parish Council would like to state the following:
Its is disappointed with the reluctance to create a 20mph speed limit in the village. It continues to be the view of the Council and a number of residents that this would be a most appropriate way to improve road safety in the Village.
The Council objects to the proposed addition of 30mph repeaters in the village, though it appreciates you are trying to do something. The view of the Council and a number of residents is that these could actually be counter productive by suggesting that 30mph is a safe speed when it is not. Although it is understood that motorists should not make this assumption it is none the less feared that some would do. Some residents also noted that they objected to installing additional road clutter. Can you please confirm that this work can be cancelled?
For anyone unfamiliar with the built environment in Parwich the Council would like to point out that most of the buildings in the centre date back to a time before motorised transport. As a result there are many locations where buildings and walls abut directly onto the highway with no pavement on either side. Several are in locations where the road is narrow and there are blind corners. Such an environment is inherently dangerous for pedestrians.
Many vulnerable road users get around the village on foot. There is a primary school in the village and a playground on the main road located on an unenclosed Village Green.
Strong objections have been raised to the suggestion that without a history of serious accidents further measures to improve safety are not likely. The statistical likelihood of a serious accident may be low due to the relatively small population of the village. But the risk to each individual is just as great as if the population were greater. It seems wrong that this approach should be used to deny the level of safety that might be provided for a larger community just becasue the population of the village is small.
In particular the Parish Council would like to ask for your advice regarding the following.

Children Playing signs
Is it possible to install Children Playing signs on the main road through the village where is approaches the Playground? This is of particular concern becasue the outside seating of the Sycamore Pub and the playground are on opposite sides of the road meaning that children cross it frequently with limited supervision.

Traffic calming.
What is the process for having chicanes, humps or similar installed so as to reduce the speed of traffic at key points?