A SERIES of measures to improve road safety in a community is due to be put into place.
Residents and councillors in Humberstone Village had been calling for action to tackle speeding drivers, rat-running and inconsiderate parking in and around Main Street.
The city council drew up plans to reinforce the existing 20mph speed limit with physical traffic-calming measures, along with time restrictions on existing parking bays outside shops, following a series of public meetings, patch walks and traffic surveys in the area.
An existing 20mph speed limit already covers Main Street, Steins Lane, Vicarage Lane between Main Street and Lobbs Wood Close, and Tennis Court Drive between Main Street and Stanley Drive.
The new physical measures to improve road safety on Main Street will include speed cushions and two-hour limited parking bays, a raised zebra crossing, and narrowing with a contraflow cycle lane at its junction with Lower Keyham Lane. The area will also be re-designated as a 20mph zone.
Elsewhere the scheme includes speed cushions in Steins Lane, and a traffic island at the junction of Tennis Court Drive and Stanley Drive, and a build-out/island at the junction of Main Street and Vicarage Lane.
Concerns raised by residents included rat-running, speeding drivers, unrestricted and illegal parking, drivers ignoring No Entry and one-way signs on Main Street, local bus routes and the impact of existing school traffic, and that from planned local developments, on the area.
The work follows a formal consultation in December and January.
Some preliminary work was carried out over the school half-term holidays in February to create a build-out on the junction of Lower Keyham Lane and Main Street, to prevent vehicles from flouting the existing no entry.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “We’ve worked closely with residents and local councillors going back to summer 2019 to address the safety concerns that have been raised.
“As a result, we will now improve upon the existing 20mph speed limit, with new signs, physical traffic-calming measures including speed humps, a raised zebra crossing and traffic islands in the village centre, to try to improve safety for all road users.”
The work is due to be carried out over the coming months, including detailed designs and installation of traffic-calming measures, with a view to the scheme being in operation by April/May 2020.
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