speed bumps on middleton stoney road
Speed bumps originally approved in June 2014 by Oxfordshire County Council and against Bicester Town Councillors wishes on Middleton Stoney Road, Bicester have been installed. Our own Oxfordshire County Councillors (Sibley, Stratford and Waine) voted against the proposals but were out voted.
Councillor Nicolas Mawer, a Bicester Town and Cherwell District Councillor told us "I am totally opposed to the use of speed humps on the Middleton Stoney Road. I accept that now both sides of the road are built up, that there needs to be some kind of traffic calming measure, but I would much have preferred to have seen a road realignment such as in Aynho village. One of the unforseen side effects of the speed bumps is that drivers are now avoiding the MSR and using Queens Avenue which is already suffering from air quality issues."
Speaking in support of the traffic calming measures, Kingsmere Residents Association (KRA) spokesperson Fiona Chalk said "The KRA welcomes the safety measures finally being put in place on the MSR. The association provided feedback on plans that were made available early in 2014 by Cherwell District Council and the KRA has expressed their concerns about the safety of the MSR regularly to Bicester Town Councillors. It had been hoped that the traffic calming and pedestrian crossings, that CDC decided were required, would have been in place some time ago, particularly as Kingsmere has grown very quickly in the past years, so pedestrian numbers have increased significantly. It has been obvious that pedestrians trying to cross the road have had great difficulty, particularly in peak periods, and at times have been risking their safety as a result of the high speed that some drivers still felt was appropriate despite the road being 30mph."
Since the speed bumps have been installed we have received a number of complaints from residents principally about their positioning and marking. We therefore would like to know your opinion of them whether you are a driver or not.
THANK YOU - THE SURVEY HAS NOW CLOSED
Wednesday 13th January: Thank you to all those who participated. We have received over 130 responses (a sample size should be more than 100 to make a randomised survey a valid observation).
Overwhelmingly residents of Bicester are against the speed bumps with most sighting the position in the road as being the most serious issue and lack of road markings being another. Importantly a large percentage (58%) said that they would now be less likely to use Middleton Stoney Road.
You can download the full report here. We will of course be providing this information to our councillors and Oxfordshire County Council when we meet them.
Or in summary;
- 138 people took part, of which 94% hold full driving licenses.
- 96% know the correct speed limit of the road, 30mph.
- 82% of respondents think that the positioning of the bumps is very inappropriate / inappropriate
- 75% of respondents think that the whitelines/signage of the bumps is very inappropriate / inappropriate
- 58% said that they would be very unlikely / unlikely to drive along the road and would avoid.
- People are neutral about walking along it.
- 51% said that they would be very unlikely / unlikely to cycle along the road even though the idea was to improve cycling.
- 39% / 46% respectively said that zebra crossings / pelican crossings would be appropriate alternative solutions for pedestrian safety. Footbridges or 20mph speed limits were very unpopular.
- As for alternative uses for the budget, the three most popular choices were; road repairs elsewhere, London Road level crossing replacement or digital speed awareness signs.
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Mr Brian Homans (Tuesday, 12 January 2016 08:31)
I saw the workmen putting these speed bumps down. They first put down a rectangular steel frame which they filled with tarmac and I assume that later they added the tapered edges. What I don't know is whether they left the steel frame in place, but already some of the bumps look as though they are cracking. I feel that smoother curved bumps, central in each carriageway lane would have been more acceptable, if indeed bumps were considered necessary.
Tracey Alker (Tuesday, 12 January 2016 10:27)
I hope that we don't see another traffic calming measure like Banbury Road (where one lane is completely blocked). This is so dangerous and completely stops traffic flow in busy times. I dislike speed bumps and will avoid them where I can. If it helps to reduce the speed to 20mph then I would prefer this. Having the police randomly speed check this area helps with awareness.
Christine Cox (Tuesday, 12 January 2016 11:39)
Badly worded survey. The questions in section 5 have little relevance to Middleton Stoney Road
Sarah Bailey (Tuesday, 12 January 2016 11:47)
I believe that speed bumps should've been a last measure taken to control the flow of traffic down the Middleton Stoney Road. I would have much preferred the "give way" traffic control measure (as used in Bure Park, and on the way into Chesterton) as this makes more sense on such a road! The pedestrian path is much too narrow for a cycle lane to be installed beside it, and is not safe enough for either pedestrians OR cyclists -- I have seen cars trying to avoid the speed bumps and steering too close to the path as a result.
Sadly it's not feasible for me to ignore this road as I live in the Greenwood Area, and would be driving well out of my way to go out of my way to avoid them -- but I would, if I could.
Trevor Rowe (Tuesday, 12 January 2016 11:51)
I really don't think pushing cars closer towards the path of much wider lorries (the large ones that are heading to Ardley) is a good idea. I think this will just lead to more accidents. Why can't they simply have speed ramps that go all the way across the road and are slightly lower. The idea is to slow the traffic down not force people into playing 'chicken' with the oncoming traffic
Brian Axe (Wednesday, 13 January 2016 11:16)
Having lived in Kennington for many years, I was got used to the speed humps ( approx 20 ) along The Avenue and Kennington Road and did not find them hazardous in any way, they certainly greatly improved the road accident rate through Kennington.
However, I feel that digital speed warning signs might have been a good alternative.
Dee Bailey (Saturday, 16 January 2016 06:19)
The fact that one has to drive down MS Road at 20 mph to avoid damage to one's car is in itself ridiculous in a 30 mph zone! There are way too many bumps installed on this stretch.
Having said that - something needs to be done pronto at the extremely dangerous situation at Coopers Green on the Buckingham Road. Last Monday (a dark night) I had to yell at the driver to stop or we would have driven straight into the bollard etc. The driver was not from the area so had no idea there was an upcoming obstruction across his carriageway. The bollard is so filthy that it doesn't reflect headlights and the sign is half hidden by a tree branch. I have reported this to OCC Highways and they are "already doing something about it but it will take up to 2 months!"
I think that the kind of speed bumps at MS Road (one set of bumps only) would be ideal at Coopers Green/Buckingham Road as it would slow the traffic but not impede it totally nor create the current dangerous situation of traffic having to cross onto the oncoming carriageway to get round the obstruction.
As for cycle paths ..........who in their right mind would cycle on any road in Bicester! These "paths" that are just lines on the road are sooo dangerous and just a sop to "Eco-Bicester".