Town Council traffic topic

Thu 18 Nov 2021, 15:34 (last edited on Thu 18 Nov 2021, 15:35)

Alice makes various points about the reduction of speed on The Slade and adjacent roads, and stresses the environmental advantages of lowering car speeds.

Whilst I in no way dissent from her statement that the most dangerous places in town are Banbury Hill, Sturt Road, The Slade, Woodstock Road and Nineacres, and would certainly agree that we need to try and address the issues of safety, the environmental impact of reducing speed to 20 m.p.h. is far less clear cut.

I have a car which advises me when to change gear in order to drive using the least fuel, and also tells me how many m.p.g. I am doing at any one time. I have no reason to believe that the car tricks me -- even if its touted best of 68 m.p.g. is, in practice, never realised. 

What is clear is that it is a slow and calm driving style that reduces the use of fuel, and also that one should remain in the highest gear possible, consistent with control of the car. This is because acceleration needs to be kept to a minimum. Perhaps that is obvious, but it is also what the flashing arrows and figures also always tell me. 

To drive at below 20 mph on a steep dip like that of The Slade involves braking and then, of course, acceleration and lower gears in order to get up the hill, given the loss of momentum of the car. 

The calculation might be different on some of the other Charlbury roads listed as dangerous, but it would be a mistake to think that 20 m.p.h. is always better in terms of environmental impact.

I am, of course, not arguing for unrestricted speed limits on The Slade -- just pointing out that 30 m.p.h. might be environmentally more advantageous than 20 m.p.h. on that particular road.

I can see the argument for moving the 20 m.p.h. limit several metres so that it includes the school crossing; but making the whole of The Slade/Sturt Rd 20 m.p.h. is far more problematic. And this is not only because of safety in ice and snow (which I mentioned in my earlier post), but also because of environmental concerns.