Further measures to slow speeding drivers in Bramley and Pudsey could be introduced by Leeds City Council.
Last year the council approved a raft of measures to install 20mph speed limits on a number of roads across the city.
Council highways chiefs have this week authorised spending a further £252,000 to provide extra traffic calming at 12 sites across Leeds where the 20mph zones haven’t worked as well as first hoped.
The proposals must first be advertised and undergo a public consultation.
Two stretches of road in West Leeds have been identified as needing further measures to reduce the speed of traffic.
They’re proposing to spend a further £36,000 on nine speed humps at Fairfield Crescent in Bramley. A council report says average speeds have been around the 23.5mph mark and there has been one serious and one slight collision on the road in recent months. The report added:
“There have been high levels of local concerns and a significant proportion of anti-social driving.”
Hough Top in Pudsey has also been identified for eight speed humps at a cost of £32,000. The council report says there have been no collisions, but a high mean speed of 27.8mph have been recorded on the road.
The council report adds:
“Introducing further traffic calming to support the programme of 20mph speed limits allows all of the benefits of lower speed limits to be fully realised. This includes a reduction in the number and severity of recorded injury collisions, plus the creation of a road environment more suited to walking and cycling and/or mobility support vehicles.”
The report can be read in full here.
So, yet more dangerous humps. The roads are crumbling, often pot holes appear around the humps due to bodging them in. 20mph zones that even the police don’t adhere to as too slow. £252,000 despite no major road crashes (the ones we see are often late at night with illegal drivers). Yet the areas looking more and more run down with filth everywhere which is blamed on the proliferation of takeaways which the council give permission for, who then leave the area without waste bins in surrounding streets.
Figures from the Department for Transport (November 2020) show nearly all drivers ignored the 20mph speed limit. Up to 94 per cent of drivers ignore the speed limit and drive faster.
Cars drivers are worst (86% saying they ignore the speed limit). Motor bikes (85%) and commercial vehicles (84%).
Where signs are used on their own, the message is ignored. Where there is reason and not just a blanket 20mph speed limit everywhere, drivers lower their speed. Some roads have 20mph and it makes no sense to the driver (Coal road & Pepper rd) while some roads through housing remain at 40mph (Alwoodly Ln. Wigton LN). I live in Guiseley (Ruskin Crescent) it’s one of many 20mph estates but almost every vehicle exceeds the speed limit to avoid the centre of Guiseley at 40/50mph (cars and very large lorries). Unless drivers can see there’s a point and live where council policy makes sense, they’re wasting our money. The impact of pollution isn’t known either.
Why don’t Local Authorities get to grips with the planks who drive around texting or using facebook at the wheel (I drive a council minibus, I see it most school days).
The speed bumps on Fairfield Crescent will be very welcome. Local Councillors have been lobbied by residents for many years about problems with speeding cars and rat running through the area. I’ve witnessed the problem first hand as I run the Community Centre on the Fairfield estate. Public meetings and consultations have been held and the majority of residents support these traffic calming measures. It’s a great example of local people raising an issue of concern and their elected representatives securing funding for a project to address it.
All the humps, try hitting one on a cycle or motorcycle. They’re dangerous, invisible after dark, cars parked on them, they’re on bends forcing you into the middle of the road, so then you’re faced with a van/truck heading straight towards you. They take your attention away from looking for hazards (child between cars etc) to concentrating on the hump. Leeds is grinding to a halt with all the stupid so called traffic calming. There needs to be more visible police using common sense as they used to. As it is millions are being pushed into speed awareness courses raising millions in revenue. Many times, people want these humps until they then hear the bang bang bang all hours of vehicles crashing over them. 20mph is far too slow on some of the roads they’re now being initiated. Good drivers drive to the conditions not the arbitrary limits. The unlicenced/uninsured/drug drivers won’t give a damn about them.
Asked to have the road closed off to stop the illegal drivers using it has a cut though morning day and night it would be cheaper to do this but council will do what they what I agree that the roads need improving because of the pot holes but we also need to stop speeding drivers.