Quiet Lanes

[Sandra Tricker]

Am I correct in my understanding that the designation of a road as a "quiet lane"  in Suffolk does not come with a lower compulsory speed limit? On a relatively recent trip to the Channel Islands  I noticed that on Guernsey quiet lanes (Ruettes Tranquilles) cyclists, walkers and horse riders have priority over motor vehicles with a recommended speed limit of 15mph and in Jersey the speed limit is 15mph and motorists are strongly discouraged from using them. There are current proposals in Jersey to enshrine the priorities in law.

Whilst implementing speed limits by law is no doubt costly and takes considerable time, I think that an advisory speed limit together with a list of priority users would be useful.

Also of interest is the following document produced by Norfolk County Council on their 'Quiet Lanes' from 2006.  http://www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk/mediaps/pdfuploads/pd000206.pdf.

Norfolk County council has used differing road surfaces in an attempt to discourage motorists from using the quiet lanes with mixed success.

The only information I can find from the Department of Transport seems to date from 2006 (http://www.ukroads.org/webfiles/TAL%203-04%20Quiet%20Lanes.pdf)

Virus-free. www.avast.com

[Chris Taylor]

Hi Sandra,

Unfortunately no chance of lower speed limits on Suffolks Quiet Lanes....

This is the current (2020) Suffolk County Council project....https://www.facebook.com/QLSP2.

and this presentatio explins how it works...https://sites.google.com/view/quietlanessuffolk/presentation

regards ....Chris Taylor

[Leo Borwick]

Hi Sandra,

You are right that a speed limit is not automatic.  SCC apply rather strict criteria in determining whether to agree to 20 mph zones:

"Locations will then only be considered for 20 mph limits or zones if two out of three of the following criteria are met: 

• Current mean speeds are at or below 24 mph
• There is a depth of residential development and evidence of pedestrian and cyclist movements within the area
• There is a record of injury accidents (based on police accident data) within the area within the last five years

Locations within conservation areas and other areas of high visual amenity will not normally be considered suitable for sign only 20mph limits unless there will be minimal adverse visual impact. In these areas any 20mph restrictions will normally be through 20mph zones. For more information, please contact suffolk...@suffolk.gov.uk" (https://suffolkroadsafe.com/speeding/speed-limits)

Clearly, this policy envisages 20 mph limits as being applicable in built-up areas and takes no account of the Quiet Lanes concept.  At the same time parishes are discouraged from thinking about quiet lanes as traffic calming measures. They are encouraged to measure their success in terms of active travel (cyclists, walkers, riders, etc.), rather than reductions in traffic, or in speeds.  This may sound a little like wishful thinking, but the mechanism for behaviour change us meant to be "expect and respect" - i.e. motorists expect these other users to be there and respect their rights to be there.

Thanks,

Leo

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cycle Ipswich" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cycle-ipswic...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cycle-ipswich/361181f1-f4a7-0088-d9d4-9e3d52f5af66%40gmail.com.