Highway Safety Issues
30th of January, 2022
The parish council is continually striving to deal with the many highways issues and make Sabden a safer place, Unfortunately, in many instances without the help/input of LCC it is unable to move forward. We can all help by parking considerately and remembering dropped Kerbs are access points to the pavement, parking too close to a junction or overhanging a junction affects sight lines, entry and egress.
The parish council recently consulted LCC Highways regarding a number of safety issues which have been raised by residents and the following is their response -
Thank you for your email about issues in Sabden, Ribble Valley. You have raised a number of concerns.
Firstly, I am sorry to hear that residents do not feel secure on and around these roads. I would seek to assure them that keeping our highway network safe is an ongoing priority for us.
In relation to the parking at the junction of St Nicholas Avenue with Padiham Road
There is a good safety record on St Nicholas Avenue and Padiham Road and the current restrictions are deemed sufficient to allow a vehicle to egress with care from the minor side road. The existing double yellow lines cover to the rear of the footway on Padiham Road. Installing new double yellow lines would require traffic regulation orders to be introduced and it is likely that objections would be raised by some residents due to the further loss of parking.
It is an offence to obstruct a drop kerb/ vehicle or pedestrian access and the council would consider placing H-bars at the problem locations to highlight that they should not be obstructed. We will investigate if parts of Watt Street, Pendle Street East and Pendle Street West would be appropriate for H bar markings.
Parking on Padiham Road, I have requested our Parking Services Team increase patrols. Along the length of Padiham Road, there are additional double white centrelines, this means it is also an offence to park alongside these on the carriageway unless passengers are alighting or for loading and unloading purposes. This is enforceable by the Police only and should be reported to them by the non-emergency telephone number: 101, or on the Lancashire Constabulary 'Do It Online' webpage, ideally with a record of the registration numbers of the vehicles.
The speed of traffic on Watt Street has been previously assessed for the introduction of a 20mph speed limit. However, I should explain that locations where there is a poor safety record for injury collisions are prioritised for future schemes. Given Watt Street has an excellent safety record, it would not meet the criteria for additional mitigation measures at this time.
We installed temporary signage along Clitheroe Road to encourage drivers to think about their speed. This was during the period of April – June 2020, we then re -erected during the period of October to December 2020, to maximise the effect of the message. Both Clitheroe Road and Whalley Road do have a high pedestrian demand throughout the day, our current programmes for new or upgraded pedestrian crossings have been allocated. However, this request will be held on record for assessment should other opportunities arise to consider Clitheroe Road and Whalley Road to be included in future capital works programmes.
Residents may be able to benefit from the Community Tool Kit, which forms part of our Speed Management Programme. This toolkit contains a variety of free resources, advice and practical ideas to help you to reduce traffic speeds in your local community. You can get more information on the Community Tool Kit by following the link https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/media/909424/community-toolkit.pdf