Noisy traffic on Sturt Road & The Slade

Thu 22 Sep 2016, 16:49

To pick up on Claire Emery's post from the 26th July I have just witnessed a car travelling at high speed through the Slade from the junction of Dancers Hill towards the primary school. I was walking in the bottom of the Slade and my attention was bought to a roaring sound where upon I saw this car come hurtling down the Slade from the Dancers hill direction.It reached the bottom of the Slade very quickly and the downward force created by the speed the car was being driven at caused the underside of the engine to be crashed against the road surface and sparks were emitted from underneath the car. This was at 3.30 this afternoon which meant that very scarily it was hurtling towards the school at which time children would probably be leaving school and crossing the road.The car raced towards the school and skidded near the top of the Slade,to avoid another car coming from the other direction, as it had to manoeuvre around cars which I think were parked on the side of the road by parents who had come to pick up their children.
This all happened so quickly I couldn't tell what the speeding car was let alone get it's reg number.

Tue 9 Aug 2016, 18:41

The mobile camera site Police van is very conspicuous and easily visible for some distance from either approaching direction. I'm therefore surprised that anyone has been caught - it shows the lack of attention paid by some drivers.

We just want people to obey the law - is that too much to ask?

Sat 6 Aug 2016, 22:36

A week away and it's no quieter. Within minutes of being home there are motorbikes tearing up and down the road doing at least 50 mph.. I'm erecting signs now, I've had enough.

Fri 5 Aug 2016, 11:31

What proportion of traffic in this time does that represent? Compared to my observations of the speed sign on The Slade, an average of 3 to 4 speeding every hour seems rather low!

Fri 5 Aug 2016, 10:56

52 offences in just 14 hours? That seems a pretty high rate of speeding to me.

Thu 4 Aug 2016, 23:27

I was on the footpath by Collinsons Row. The driver was going very fast and veered right into the curb as he/she wizzed past. It's very dark along there so wonder if the driver didn't even notice there is a path (or me on it) because of the speed. Not the first time this has happened.....

Thu 4 Aug 2016, 14:51

We do have a mobile camera site on Sturt Road, Charlbury and I can provide some info about enforcement. Sturt Road has had 7 visits from the mobile camera van in 2016, approx 14 hours, during this enforcement 52 offences were detected.

Thu 4 Aug 2016, 10:55

There is no footpath on Hixet Wood between the bottom of the hill at the Sheep Street end and the gate to Lee Place at the top.

Thu 4 Aug 2016, 09:50

Actually, I have often wondered whether that particular sign is set at below 30. I often come out from the top of Dancers Hill, then down into the dip - and it regularly flashes on even though I haven't reached anything like 30 by the time my car is within its range.

Thu 4 Aug 2016, 09:45

the 30 mph sign means nothing, it will go off at 31mph, and Rhona were you on the footpath or walking in the road like many people tend to do, did the car go on to the pavement?

Wed 3 Aug 2016, 12:21

It's not just Sturt Road. My dog and I were nearly wiped out by an idiot driving much too fast along Hixet Wood at about 10pm on monday evening. It left both of us shaking.....

Mon 1 Aug 2016, 21:53

I agree. Further evidence is provided by the frequency that the 30mph 'warning' sign is illuminated on The Slade (the one near the top of Dancers Hill). You'll find that around 2/3 of passing vehicles set it off.

Fri 29 Jul 2016, 09:13

Philip - do you live around the area between Sturt Road and The Slade, close to the main road. YES INCREDIBLE speeds. Twice this morning I watched out of my window as some cars drive substantially faster than others. It is plain for the eye to see which are the ones exceeding 30mph. I would guess that very few are going under 30mph. From our house I can see where the police van parks when checking the speed. I often walk my dog first thing in the morning when the road is busy and fast. If there is a police van there, nearly every car puts its brakes on as they see it. That's my evidence. If you drive that road regularly as I do, it does feel slow to do 30 on it, and I honestly believe that the vast majority of cars exceed that.

Tue 26 Jul 2016, 22:46

"Incredible speeds" , "70mph" Really??? Where is your evidence? If you genuinely have any send it to Chief Constable Francis Habgood at TVP.

The trouble with a forum like this is that a minor problem can become exaggerated beyond belief by those with a vested interest.

Excessive traffic calming will only tempt some folk to make up the lost time elsewhere, often in more dangerous locations on the open road.

The thin blue line is much thinner than many politicians would have you believe. Speed enforcement in Charlbury must be very low on the list of TVP priorities.

20mph limits are supposed to be largely self enforcing and would work throughout most of Charlbury, which I would support, but not the "ring road " / main through route.

Tue 26 Jul 2016, 09:03

Some people go way too fast on Sturt Road, particularly early mornings when there isn't much traffic about. Its not uncommon to be woken by cars and especially very loud motorcycles revving out of the turnings from Dancers Hill, Lee Close, Lees Heights etc (I can't really tell which as I'm in bed when I hear it) on to Sturt Road at incredible speeds. My assumption is that this is some form of showing off, and it infuriates me! Mr Angry of Sturt Road.

Tue 26 Jul 2016, 08:21

Crikey! I live on Sturt Road and I really think it needs traffic calming measures in place. There is quite a clear 30mph speed limit..but for some this doesn't seem to apply. Motorbikes and cars seem to zap by at speeds of around 70mph in some cases! OK.. occasionally there's a police van parked in the lay-by which must catch a few offenders..but seriously- "where's the fire?"!

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Fri 22 Jul 2016, 18:50 (last edited on Fri 22 Jul 2016, 19:44)

And what do others think of this Planning Application for 13 new dwellings leading onto Sturt Road? Assuming they have 2 cars each (plus visitors, delivery vehicles to and fro) isn't that going to contribute to congestion/noise, etc.?
publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=O9VYF2RKG2O00

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 17:42 (last edited on Fri 22 Jul 2016, 17:43)

I live near Fiveways and have to cross it each morning to travel along the B road to Woodstock as part of my journey to Wallingford (where I work). I have to say that the traffic/noise doesn't bother me ( I grew up in London!) but pulling out on to the Fiveways junction in the morning can be a nerve-wracking experience, as cars coming down the Slade appear to be travelling quite fast (although they may not be). What does get my goat is the number of cyclists who whizz around the corner at weekends in swarms shouting directions at each other, or stopping to spit. I've nothing against cyclists, but perhaps some cycle directions would help? (Not with the spitting obviously!)

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 16:49

It might be appropriate on Sturt Road but it is not appropriate to put chicanes or road narrowing anywhere on the steep part of the Slade, and that includes at the botom of the dip. If you'd seen cars sliding down there you'd realise this. In addition to it being difficult in snowy weather if chicanes etc are put in, it will also become awkward for waste and recycling and delivery lorries, although they'd become traffic calming in their own right at that point. How many of these other places are using traffic calming on steep hills?

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 15:34

Removal of the road's white centre lines will result in lower average speeds. This is evidenced by the various towns & villages in England that have adopted this approach, where they have a similar set-up of a (lit) main route passing through a populated area.
One of the principle problems, from the local residents' point of view, with the design of The Slade and Sturt Road, is the high degree of forward visibility it affords to drivers. This tends to encourage higher speeds.
Techniques such as tree planting, chicanes and absence of demarcation reduce sight lines introducing uncertainty in drivers who naturally slow down, as they sense potential hazard.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 12:58

How does that work with the school in the morning? Priority to the uphill traffic and a queue wanting to go down caused by the lollipop lady letting kids across the road? It's a high volume traffic time anyway.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 12:42

I believe that chicanes for The Slade would work if they give priority to the uphill traffic, thereby slowing the traffic approaching the 'dip'. I have observed so much traffic approaching from Sturt Road is already well over 30mph before it gets to The Slade.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 11:52

Chicanes etc would not be suitable for the Slade because it's a steep hill and we do sometimes get quite heavy snowfall in the winter. Vehicles need to have enough space to be able to get a good run up the uphill side, especially bearing in mind this is the through road to Witney and will be one of the gritted roads enabling emergency vehicles etc to travel about. Since I've seen cars failing to get up the Slade in the winter as it is at present, reducing the available space isn't going to make it easier.

Also, I do hope any trees planted will be properly thought out, and not hacked about for being too tall like the ones in Frideswide Square will be shortly or planted under utility cables as the ones in Hughes Close have been (don't think there are any on the Slade though), and that residents don't subsequently start complaining about lack of light in their houses.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 11:34

Planting trees on both sides of The Slade would slow traffic. It would both narrow the space available for cars and make what is currently clearly a road (for cars) a street (for homes and people). It would look nicer too.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 11:20

It's a difficult circle to square!

DfT guidance is that 20mph limits (without calming) should be applied where the mean speed is already under 24mph. This is probably true of the centre of Charlbury and of Ticknell, the Green, etc. but not of the Slade and Nine Acres Lane.

For a road with a current mean speed of over 24mph, the guidance recommends physical traffic calming. Unfortunately the challenge is that (as we saw with the Nine Acres Lane speed bumps) traffic then often re-routes to avoid the calming, probably through the town centre.

In the short term the point is perhaps moot as the County Council doesn't have any money for physical works, sadly. In the medium term I wonder if providing crossing points through raised crossing tables, zebra crossings and/or crossing islands on the Slade may be appropriate.

One simple change I would very much like to see is replacing some of the central hatching on the Slade and Nine Acres Lane with a standard white line. Some of the space freed up could be used to enlarge the parking on the outer (Ticknell) side (edit: or to plant trees as Liz suggests!). Research has shown that moving cars further apart with central hatching actually increases speeds; removing it can cut speeds by 1-2mph. (The report is here if you're interested.)

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 10:23

Well-designed traffic calming measures (like chicanes) provide an effective, physical means of limiting and controlling speed. Far more effective than signs.
These systems do exist and don't have to be like the terrible ones we once had on Five-Acres lane.

Fri 22 Jul 2016, 09:17

If people don't observe a 30 mph speed limit they won't observe a 20 mph limit either.

Thu 21 Jul 2016, 20:46

Consultations with the kids at the school as part of the neighbourhood forum showed their concern around both the speed of traffic on the slade and the difficulty of crossing it/lack of perceived safe crossing. I think many kids and parents would support a 20mph limit on the slade.

Thu 21 Jul 2016, 16:56

Apart from the noise factor, 20 mph would also be a lot safer for pedestrians crossing the road. I think most drivers slow down to around the speed limit which would bring down the average speed, even if not to 20 mph. I agree that The Slade should definitely be included in a 20 mph limit.

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 21:57

It was noticeable that whenever the police had their (marked) speed check van in the lay-by near the fire station the overall noise level dropped markedly. Sturt Road and The Slade maybe considered to be the Charlbury ring-road but there is a lot of residents that live near them and/or have to regularly walk along them.
Making a change to the TSRGD is quite expensive, we ought then to be looking to include everything in this one change that the community thinks it will need over the forthcoming years rather than simply addressing today's problems.

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 20:55 (last edited on Wed 20 Jul 2016, 21:00)

20mph along the Slade would mean at busy times the traffic would be so bunched together that the noise would be continuous for long periods.
(Just a thought after spending time behind a long queue of cars and a tractor doing 20mph on the A361)

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 20:16

A car at 30 mph isn't that noisy. Much of the noise is probably from the poor road surface.

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 18:41

A little unscientific, but wouldn't the noise of vehicles going uphill increase at 20mph as the vehicles would have lost a third of their momentum from coming down the opposite side?

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 18:34

And at 20mph you will hear the noise for 1.5 times the period you hear it for when the vehicle is doing 30mph.

Wed 20 Jul 2016, 13:53 (last edited on Wed 20 Jul 2016, 13:58)

Let's not confuse noise and speed here folks!

Any fool can drive a car at 20mph in first gear and make way more noise than 30mph in 3rd. Even worse are little mopeds with illegally modified exhausts.

You may think Charlbury is busy with traffic, but relatively speaking it is a nice quiet backwater, with low crime rate and warrants little in the way of police resources.

If you were Chief Constable of TVP, where would you concentrate your resources? Charlbury or Oxford / Reading / Slough?

A 20mph limit on all of the roads within Charlbury except the "Ring Road" would seem to make some sense. It would be largely self-enforcing anyway.

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 23:42

A 20mph limit in Charlbury looks very likely to happen in the next year or two - watch this space. I'm afraid I wouldn't bet on the Slade being included, though: as a through-route with a fairly high average speed at present, it may not fulfil the Government criteria for a 20mph limit.

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 21:50

speed limits always seem to be the answer but who is going to enforce it, obviously the 30 mph is not kept to so why should 20mph.
Traffic still makes quite a noise at 20mph.

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 20:04

PS I would be all for a 20mph limit throughout Charlbury.

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 20:03

On a slightly related note I drove along the currently unmarked road to Woodstock yesterday evening. The lack of road markings made it feel more like a minor country road, and I wondered idly if that has a psychological effect of slowing cars down. Has anyone noticed a slow down of traffic along there? Or am I being fanciful?

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 16:38

This is an ongoing issue. Not just because of the noise (which we indeed hear too from our garden/house), but also the (feeling of) safety when walking children to school along the Slade. I'm all for 20mph max for the whole of Charlbury - as there are several other roads that would be much better to use for all if cars were going slower. Unfortunately, discussions about this often seem to get out of hand, and also there has, so far, been little appetite to invest in a 20 mph scheme. Perhaps the new Town Plan will help?

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 15:15

I agree. Our garden backs onto the Slade and has got noisier and busier since we came here 33 years ago! I object to motor cyclists roaring up and down the Slade, obviously speeding while I am trying to sit in the garden. So a 20mph limit throughout the whole of Charlbury would be great.

Tue 19 Jul 2016, 14:29

With the present hot weather meaning windows are wide open I notice how noisy the traffic is that's moving along Sturt Road and The Slade. Charlbury householders trying to enjoy the summer sun in their gardens probably notices this too.
If the Town Council are intending to amend the TSRGD for double yellow line parking (bottom of 9 Acres, etc.) then why not set the speed limits throughout Charlbury to 20mph at the same time.