www.SortOutStarkholmesTraffic.co.uk
STARKHOLMES TRAFFIC ACTION GROUP

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Questions and answers - questions arising from our meetings and from emails and other enquiries, together with answers where we have them.

(1) Questions from the meeting on 25th Nov. 2009

1. Could we help to police the road ourselves? (for speed/access only)
Jon Bewley (SNT): this is an option. However, this will not necessarily affect volumes . we need to make the road more difficult to travel through so that volumes are reduced.
2. Would it be possible to have a 30 mph speed limit which extends down Willersley as there is a stretch which is 60?
3. The main problem we have is the volume of traffic. What we need to do is physically slow that traffic down so that the route becomes uninviting. We need something which increases parking etc. We should be looking to make Willersley 30 mph, then 25 or 20 through the village itself.
4. Have the council considered putting in chicanes to reduce the traffic speeds?
Cllr Jackson: Chicanes do work in the right place; we do have them in the county (i.e. Breadsall). It is one of the options which will be considered.
5. One Starkholmes resident raised serious concern re subsidence, stating that the traffic volumes have increased subsidence to the extent that her house is cracking.
6. The real reason that the traffic volumes have increased is due to the Sainsbury�fs development; can the bridge be made 2 way again at Crown Square?
7. One Church St resident stated that there is information available on the website re traffic calming; the option for 20 mph limits is stated to be required where there is a chance that young children can be hurt (we have 2 schools on the stretch!) A discussion followed on the increased use of Starkholmes as a 'rat run'
Peter Leigh: the consultants used before Sainsbury�fs was developed stated in their report that there should be no impact on the Starkholmes area. The council did not agree with this and have secured money for dealing with traffic problems.
8. A gentleman raised the point that his son was in an accident at the bottom of Church Street. Why have pelican crossings not been considered to prevent accidents? Do we have to wait for a fatality for this to be considered?
9. (Referring to point 7 response): Did the council not think to carry out their own surveys to counter those produced by the consultants before the development?
Peter Leigh: traffic data is not useful without being able to predict what will happen to the traffic which is discouraged. . Ian Milne: Starkholmes Rd was not included in the original report. The second report . Ian has requested this but has not received it, so we don�ft know if this includes the road or not. . Peter Leigh: traffic lights at the bottom of Church Street would almost certainly cause massive queues coming down from Tansley as the road is not wide enough for turning lanes. This will also encourage people to use the road as they have an easy exit.
10. Was there a deal done with Sainsbury�fs whereby if they gave money for the road system the road would be made 1 way at the bridge?
Neil Hickman: No this was not the case.
11. A resident made the point that earlier it was stated that the traffic was mostly residents . looking at the graph shown earlier, there is far more northbound traffic so this cannot be the case!
12. (Referring to point 9 response): You would have to be waiting for more than 5 minutes at the traffic lights for this to be more of a nuisance . can the bridge be made 2 way . can we have a 6 month experiment to see if this works?
Neil Hickman: the planning permission stated that the bridge would be made 1 way . it also stated that there would be an experimental complete closure of the bridge. The council has rejected this so far due to the problems which would be caused in Starkholmes. The council has seen that the traffic has gone above the 5% increase (the original criteria for action to be taken) which is why money has been secured to counter this. Starkholmes will receive the 'lion's share' of the funding as it has been most affected.
13. Right the way along the road there are serious problems . the section of road around the village centre does not have pavement for the children to cross. This section of the road also includes the village hall where meetings of Brownies etc. take place (inevitably in the dark). Can the sign 'thank you for driving carefully' here be removed as it encourages people to speed up?
14. What will it take for a trial to be put in place for the bridge to be reopened 2 way?
Neil Hickman: we will look into this in terms of the traffic lights/turning. We will look into the feasibility.
15. Why was the bridge made 1 way in the first place? And why does it need to stay that way?
16. Are we going to see action as a result of this meeting?
Chris Jackson: yes, we are.
17. Can we have speed bumps all the way down the road?
Chris Jackson: we cannot do this due to the church/undertakers using the road. We have to consider the families of those people whose funerals are held at St Giles.
18. Why has the weigh restriction been removed on this road (7.5 tonnes)?
The sign is still there but hidden by a bush! It is still restricted.
19. The subsidence is so great now that weight restriction surely should now be reduced?
20. A resident of Stark Rd stated that the speed around the White Lion is so great this should really be addressed.
21. Public Relations Officer for G & J Holmes; there is a big problem with rat�]runners, no respect for the bus drivers and the residents of Starkholmes. The buses are narrow and have been designed especially for Starkholmes. Could we have signs at the narrow sections to show oncoming vehicles in the middle of the road?
22. Could we have flashing blind summit signs at the top of the road coming down Willersley?
23. Planning has come up on several occasions . could we have a planning officer at the next meeting?
24. Suggestion was made to give parents of the schools something to take home to advise them of the STAG work.
25. What is the argument against access only . what are the criteria for having this implemented (new motorway junction at Duckmanton was cited as an example)?
26. A request was made for a sound system to be in place for any future public meetings.