During a recent consultation by Cheshire East Highways, residents have shown their support for the introduction of a 20mph zone and associated traffic calming measures in the centre of the village.
In total, almost 700 people responded, with more than 500 in support of the proposals.
A report commissioned by Cheshire East Council concludes that "694 responses is a high level of response, particularly given the population of Alderley Edge village in 2011 (the last census) was 4,780. That such a large proportion of residents (73%) indicated their support for the proposals gives a fairly clear mandate to proceed with them, indeed many residents felt that the proposals could go further.
"Whilst there is very strong support for the proposals, there is some concern that the proposals may not solve what might be the main issue in the village - that of apparent 'supercar parades' which the village seems to have become a focal point for. The large volume of responses to the survey however, indicates a high level of feeling about the proposals and the issues they are designed to solve."
The main reasons given in support of the proposals included:
- "people drive too fast around the village and so a 20mph limit and speed bumps are needed"
- "the proposals will benefit the whole community and make it a more pleasant place to live"
- "the proposals will make it safer for everyone, but especially children, pedestrians and cyclists"
The main reasons given in opposition to the proposals included:
- "they are a waste of money to appease a vocal minority"
- "the proposed area is too large and should focus on London Road only"
- "the proposals will have a negative visual impact on the village"
The purpose of the survey was to gather and analyse initial feedback on the proposals and dependent upon the outcome, commence a formal period of consultation on the final proposals. Following the number of responses in favour of the principle of the scheme, Cheshire East Highways will now proceed to statutory consultation.
the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and Officer Decision Record will be drafted in December/January, followed by a formal consultation on the final proposals in February/March.
Afterwards the detailed design, including a road closure/permit consultation will take place between January and April. The construction and implementation of the scheme is then expected to happen in June/July next year.
Councillor Craig Browne said "I would like to record my thanks to everyone who responded to the consultation, as well as to officers from Cheshire East Highways and our partners in the emergency services and members of the Multi Agency Action Group for their work in developing the proposals. I'm also grateful to our three schools, Alderley Edge Community Primary, Alderley Edge School for Girls & the Ryleys for their support.
"Whilst I am pleased with the consultation response, I am under no illusion that there is a single effective solution to the problem of antisocial driving and some of the alternative options that were suggested by opponents of the proposals will need to remain under consideration (such as additional enforcement by the police, as well as average speed or acoustic cameras); however, these options are resource intensive and lie outside the current remit of Cheshire East Council."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Hoping the Police Commissioner gets hold of the issues and comes back with proposals to reduce the speeding by active policing and enforcement especially on Wilmslow Road, Chelford Road/Ryleys Lane, Heyes Lane, Macclesfield Road and Congleton Road.
If speed limits are not enforced by the Police, including the 20 MPH areas, then the 'bumps' may be a minor inconvenience rather than a speeding deterrent. Good money may be spent delivering limited value.
What are the specific proposals to measure noise pollution in the village created by the attention-seeking, over revving super car drivers? If this is outside the Councils remit then the Police need to step in.
4X4s (of which there is an abundance in Alderley) can sail over them at virtually any speed. They also vastly increase local air pollution (exhaust fumes and brake dust - very bad news for pedestrians, especially young children, in the village) by causing vehicles to brake to a crawl to go over them, then accelerate back up to 20mph in between the humps. And of course they are a big problem for an ambulance with a delicate patient on board.
But they are cheap and might make those who don't think too deeply about it believe 'something is being done' to make the village better. It isn't! And is excess speed through the village the real problem anyway? Congestion keeps the speeds down on London Road. As Kelvin Briggs points out, the speeding problem is on the roads around the village.
Funding should be redirected to protect residents of the village - the volume of burglaries is purely unacceptable… Craig - you need to sort this. Your priority must move to protecting local residents rather than wasting tax payers money.
They are otherwise perfectly safe and can be found widely in many places.
Objection to something intended to make a busy town centre Street a safe and pleasant place to be is churlish and akin to arguing that speed limits are too low for modern cars.
Get those traffic calming measures in place soon! I’m certain that a large majority welcomes them.
At the meeting called by the Police Commissioner on the 23rd September in Wilmslow there was a lot of residents who explained the problems in full, but so far a distinct lack of action and dare I say it prosecutions!
As I said in my previous post a job for the cops when they can make an effort!
Also is seems that the majority of people who made comment on the consultation agreed with it which is good.
I do agree with some of the comments on here reference more needing to be done ref speeding and noise, but there is surely only so much CEC can do, its down to the police to enforce and do they have the resources?? doubt it.
Marcus is essentially correct, in that what is proposed is not "speed humps" but "speed tables", some examples of which can be found here - https://www.trafficchoices.co.uk/traffic-schemes/speed-table.shtml - where indicative costs are also given.
To clarify, these traffic calming interventions would be fully funded via developer contributions (S106 agreements), i.e. at no cost to Council Tax payers. S106 funds must be spent on new infrastructure and may not be spent on routine highway maintenance.
Kind regards,
Craig
How serious is speeding on this central village stretch of road?
Please can we see stats ?
Why do the community speed team place themselves on the feeder/ arterial roads into and out of the village if the main village is where the speeding issue is?
Have acoustic cameras been costed?
These ‘tables’ will simply push the issue onto other roads, so is there a plan to add speed cameras that actually fine on the by pass and other feeder roads?
The ones that don’t fine don’t work at all btw! Try living on Heyes Lane and you will soon realise that.
The bigger picture needs to be looked at imo.
Thank you for your questions. Speed assessments were carried out in the village centre as part of the initial feasibility study for this project and the results published on this website - (here is the link - https://www.alderleyedge.com/assets/alderleyedge/files/traffic-tracsis.pdf).
Our Community Speedwatch volunteers regularly carry out monitoring on routes which lie wholly or partly within the proposed 20mph zone, including Ryleys Lane, Wilmslow Road, Congleton Road and Chorley Hall Lane, with the results frequently published here.
https://www.alderleyedge.com/news/article/20724/community-speedwatch-team-returns-following-lockdown
https://www.alderleyedge.com/news/article/18695/vehicle-clocked-speeding-every-69-seconds-approaching-a-school
https://www.alderleyedge.com/news/article/17874/speedwatch-volunteers-target-trafford-road-and-heyes-lane
Following a consultation carried out by Cheshire East Council in the summer of 2020 (to which there were 1342 responses), we have been working with our emergency services partners in the Multi Agency Action Group (MAAG) to develop these proposals. I would agree with you that a holistic view is important and this is one of the reasons why the MAAG exists; however, it is also important to recognise that whilst speed management does lie within the Council's remit, speed enforcement does not.
Acoustic cameras were also discussed; however, a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would be required to enforce any contraventions and the MAAG were of the view that traffic calming measures should be introduced before giving further consideration to a PSPO. In considering the extent of the proposed 20mph zone, the MAAG took into account not just average speeds but also the areas within the village where pedestrian footfall is highest - principally around the main shopping area and outside the three village schools.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Craig
At the recent meeting in Wilmslow Parish Hall on the 21st September, Craig Browne's contribution to the discussion stood out as being tame and uninspiring. He really has no idea how to solve this problem affecting the high street in Alderley village. The only worthwhile solution to this problem is the one he has come up with. He wouldn't give a moment’s consideration to what any one else suggests - cloth ears mentality.
In the survey with 500 in support of "traffic calming measures' what percentage supports the 'speed bump' type of measure? Break the numbers down and it would not surprise me if nobody wants SPEED BUMPS as a ‘traffic calming measure’.
An annoying issue that is just as important is the 'boy racer' smart exhaust noise nuisance along the A34.
As the deputy leader of Cheshire East Council AND as leader of the Independent Group AND as Chair of the Highways and Transport Committee, Craige Browne has as much responsibility for sorting out this noise nuisance too - even though he has stated it’s the responsibility of all the other councillors.
So what's your solution here Mr Browne?
Speed bumps not really an option for a 70mph road, which sort of indicates to me you don't have a solution.
This new bit of kit at the link below could be good if it incorporates a decibel camera too.
Also - check out the speed detection facility, which might be perfect for monitoring the proposed 20mph limit in the village instead of your archaic speed bumps. But then again - this isn't an idea YOU came up with [just like the acoustic camera that apparently has been successful in Kensington & Chelsea] so it's out of the question.
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/130580/parifex-nano-cam-traffic-management/
How about contacting the designers and see what it can do for Cheshire East?
As to last Saturday night and the excessive noise from cars racing up and down the A34 and then probably onto Alderley or Wilmslow, I am due to speak to the Neighbourhood Police Inspector sometime later today or hopefully tomorrow regarding this issue, so we shall see what he has to say.
What planet have you been living on for the last couple of years?
This 'excessive noise' you nonchalantly refer to has been an issue for ages - so don't think we have all been waiting for you to stroll out of the ether to have a chat with the Neighbourhood Police Inspector. This isn't going to get you any medals either when so many of us have been battling with all our local representatives about this problem - including Craig Browne.
I suggest you have a read of this Wilmslow.co.uk topic from 2019:
https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/19474/readers-letter-a34-roundabouts...
...and then start reading similar postings and articles since that date and you will learn that the noise from the 'boy racers' comes from their exhausts which mostly have been modified for this specific purpose.
I don't suppose anyone has paused to think that this noise issue from the modified exhausts of cars [plus the odd bike] will lower the value of any homes that live close enough to be affected - just in case anyone is thinking of selling up to get away from it? In a similar vein, does anyone know if an estate agent not mentioning this negative aspect to a home they are selling might be deemed not to be offering an accurate description of the property?
In the meantime David we all await the outcome of your meeting with the local Police Officer - Inspector Griffiths by any chance?
Thankyou for your informative post, I live on Planet 'Alderley' by the way.
Speed in the village of Alderley Edge [like along the A34 in Wilmslow] is not the issue. It is the NOISE made by the drivers of 'flash' motor cars that gather in the village at certain times just to go up and down the street and revving up their engines to make the racket that is getting up everyone’s nose as well as in their ears! They do this by accelerating from stationary to the legal limit of 30mph and then braking almost to a standstill when they put the car in neutral, briefly rev the engine to make the same racket before starting the same procedure all over again and repeating the cycle several times along the road.
So spending residents’ money on a few speed control measures in the high street will not prevent this sort of performance. EQUALLY: having a 20mph limit will not stop it either. It is just as possible to make the same racket going from almost stationary to your suggested revised legal limit of 20mph and repeat the same cycle over and again in noisy bursts that take just as long to complete.
In this respect, if the problem is NOISE a speed camera will have zero effect on making the problem go away.
A decibel camera will have an effect and has been proven to be of use by other councils.
In light of my belief that the traffic calming measures in which you and the MAAG seem to have invested all your faith will therefore NOT produce any calmer traffic in the main street, I think you should obtain the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) asap so that a more credible solution such as the acoustic camera can be implemented.
If we need funds for such a system in Wilmslow and along the A34 it would have been more appropriate for the Wilmslow Town Council to have help fund such a system instead of their £100,000 purchase of new Christmas tree lights. It’s not as though we had none before. The previous lights could have lasted a bit longer and we might then have achieved quieter streets for them to hang down upon - the racket is in our town centre too as well as the F1 A34 racetrack.
Also Craige Browne:
What will be the cost of the ‘traffic calming measures’ that you are proposing?
What will be the cost of a decibel camera?
Answers required in a reply to this posting.
What has been the cost so far of the work done by the Multi Agency Action Group (MAAG) in coming up with the proposal that you have adopted?
As suggested - have you evaluated this device yet?
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/130580/parifex-nano-cam-traffic-management/
Anyone interested [not you then?] in matters ‘transport’ take a look at this website to see what’s coming your way:
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/
I would love to know what big guns they are planning on using
Thanks in advance
At that actual meeting, truthfully I came away feeling the depth of the concerns put forward by the attendees wasn’t being fully understood and comprehended by some of the panel. I based my feeling probably because the meeting centred more on ‘what was/had been happening’ as opposed to ‘what needed to happen’ e.g. what positive remedial actions were needed to stop the problems occurring.
I reported the problems of excessive noise last Saturday night to the police, as it sounded like a lot of high powered cars were racing up and down the A34. This was confirmed earlier in a conversation with Wilmslow police as a number of cars were involved in a street racing meet around Wilmslow and up to the A34 and back again.
I wouldn’t be giving a lot away by saying these meets are normally posted on social media in advance in order to get a lot of people to attend, but unfortunately this particular event was kept very low key, hence the police didn’t get their normal heads up to stop it happening in the first place and thus problems occurred. Saying that the police did still however manage to take some actions against some of the people involved.
I am going to stop now, not because I personally have anything to hide or are precious about but only because the information discussed on what future police actions are planned for the future would seriously undermine their work by posting it out for all and sundry to see. I also don’t want to be the person who may be held responsible for hindering future police operations which would be counter productive for everybody concerned
Fiona, I can now honestly say the information I was privy to today has gone quite a way to reassure me the Police do have a very good understanding of the problems faced and also the myriad of things that may have to be done across a multi-agency approach not just now but for the future by ALL agencies to help. Only time will tell of course as to how this will pan out lets hope positively.
If this is to be a change in the nature of the 'boy racers' having their fun there needs to be a FAST response from the authorities and persons responsible for actually doing something otherwise we will be stuck with this nuisance for possibly years to come in which time the ‘attraction’ of living round here will become less attractive. The police seems to be the obvious one but will quite rightly say they have a lack of manpower and resources and even if they had them can't really do much because there are no regulations to stop a rabble of morons driving up and down the same stretch of road at speeds below the legal limit. They could perhaps be accused of driving too close to each other or not indicating before overtaking plus a few other tame offences that really are not easy to apply and would only result in an eventual small fine which will hardly bring to an end this regular pleasure they now seem to be deliberately enjoying. It’s as though part of their pleasure has now evolved into deliberately annoying those of us who are unfortunate enough to live within earshot. Their timing is quite appropriate too for several reasons. Firstly, between 2100 & 2200hrs is surely the police handover time from daytime shift to the night shift when they aren’t at their most responsive. It does not help that it has been mentioned irresponsibly in Wilmslow.co.uk that at night there is a tiny police presence in this part of Cheshire and so the best time for them to enjoy their fun with the least possible chance of being disrupted.
It might help if their choice of racetrack is modified to make it less attractive.
One suggestion is to make the speed limit 40mph with timed speed cameras along the sections that attract them. Now I know this is going to go against the authoritative rejection by Councillor Goldsmith of such a proposal in his posting of 26th September 2019 at the link https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/19474/readers-letter-a34-roundabouts but allowing these noise pests a limit of 40mph will severely restrict their ability to have their fun. and they might go somewhere else. It is also a sensible limit as I stated in my posting on the grounds of SAFETY.
I still believe that decibel cameras are the best contender for sorting this problem despite the resistance by councillor Craig Browne. Another firm contender is apprehending noisy cars for modified exhausts and removing the vehicle immediately to somewhere else for further action. Actually separating these cherished vehicles from the owners would be a serious cause for concern akin to removing their manhood!
Finally I have to laugh in a way, when lack of finances in order to solve this - and other issues that we residents want sorted - is always quoted as being unavailable when the area is inhabited by so many wealthy persons who can all afford to pay more council tax. They would all demonstrate so much in support of the ‘lovely’ place in which they and their families choose to live should they organise a financial fund to tackle local issues like this if all that is required is a bit of finance. Philanthropy begins at home too, you know. My heart ‘bleeds’ for the poor wealthy individual who recently had his watch stolen outside the Ferrari showroom in Handforth: see the link https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/22098/cartier-watch-stolen-during-mugging-on-ferrari-forecourt?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter1353 If there were more CCTV cameras sprinkled around town perhaps these thieves could have been traced and he gets back his watch - but then there’s always going to be those against who go on about ‘Big Brother’ and ‘living in a ‘police state’. The £100,000 Wilmslow Town Council spent on our replacement Christmas tree lights would have been better spent on this sort of protection [SAFETY] of the residents. Next time knives might be involved in such an occurrence.
So, time for us all to make up our minds and decide how to sort out some of the issues that are making living in Wilmslow/Alderley less enjoyable.
What do YOU propose?
It’s noise pollution that is the problem and a solution needs to be considered to fix this problem and the solution is not speed bumps
https://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2021/09/johnny-thalassites-how-new-technology-will-help-us-defeat-noise-pollution-in-kensington-and-chelsea.html
Still the best long-term solution for ANYWHERE that exhaust noise is a problem.
If it’s the implementation, that you are not so sure about, of a 20mph speed limit down Alderley Edge High Street to protect cyclists & pedestrians check out this impressive, high-tech bit of kit from PARIFEX:
https://www.itsinternational.com/daily-news/its-world-congress-all-access/parifex-gears-multi-violation-control
Also the artist’s impression of a speed cushion for this article suggests the High Street will be narrowed and so restrict the flow of traffic. The bog standard ‘speed cushion’ as described in the link below is ‘old hat’ and rather useless, being just about wide enough for vehicles to straddle it without feeling a thing!
https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tal/1998/tal-1-98.pdf