Slower roads to be designed into housing developments
NEW HIGHWAY GUIDE FOR PLANNERS AIMS TO ‘ALTER DRIVER BEHAVIOUR’ AND ENCOURAGE CYCLING AND WALKING
NEW residential developments in Nottinghamshire will be designed to have speed limits of 15-20mph.
Nottinghamshire County Council has set out new guidance for developers and planners to encourage better driver behaviour in residential streets.
Speed limits in smaller cul-de-sacs should be up to 15mph, while residential streets should be designed to keep motorists at 20mph.
Meanwhile, main roads and streets leading to industrial developments should have a speed limit of 30mph.
It comes as Nottingham City Council explores options for a 20mph zone in the city centre as part of a new travel scheme.
Councillor John Cottee, chairman of the communities and place committee at the council, said the new speed guidance will be achieved first and foremost through better road layouts and traffic-calming measures. He said: “The general road geometry requirements in part 3.1 of the guide require designers to aim for a target design speed of 20 mph on residential streets, and 15 mph on residential accessways (cul-de-sacs).
“It is not our intention that the design speed is achieved by forcing drivers to adhere to prescriptive low-speed limits, but instead the guidance seeks to alter driver behaviour through better road layouts, differing surfaces and other calming features.
“The new guidance will apply to all new residential developments across Nottinghamshire moving forward, particularly those with six or more houses which developers may wish to offer for adoption by county council to become maintainable at public expense under Section 38 of the
Highways Act.”
Councillor Cottee says the guidance should encourage a shift away from people using cars and promote walking and cycling.
The council says the new highway design guide underwent extensive public consultation beforehand and includes guidance that speed humps and cushions should only be used to limit speed “as a last resort”.
“We want Nottinghamshire to be a great place to live so it’s important that roads and streets in new developments are attractive for residents and safe, particularly for young children,” councillor Cottee added. “They also need to be well connected to education settings, training, jobs and leisure and we want more people to be able to access these by bike and on foot.”