Hi all,
Our local council has just opened a new 7km ring road. It is a dual carriageway, 2 lanes each direction, no hard shoulder, 1.5 metre high concrete central reservation. There is a roundabout approximately every 1km with proper segregation of cyclists and pedestrians from traffic. Cycle lanes and footpaths to follow shortly.
The Council have imposed a 60km/h (37mph) limit on the road citing "technical" and "policy" reasons.
From my observations, about one third of users are observing 60k, one third 80k, and most of the rest about 100k.
Speed Variance: Don'tcha just love it!!!!????
I've been on radio pointing out a number of flaws in the proferred "logic" for the new limit - "it is an urban road" vs There are only five entrances onto this road other than roundabouts as it winds through the countryside - "there are bends on the road" vs the fact that the sightlines are perfectly adequate (IMHO) for a dual-carriageway, although one crest could be considered iffy.
Before I go on the rampage again,
I would like to find some info on "Design Speed" and how UK authorities would go about identifying an appropriate speed for such a road.
If anyone can point me to a resource on the web which I can use to gen up, or offer professional opinion, it would be very much appreciated.
If anyone can identify roads of a similiar spec in the UK (or elsewhere) with a 60mph (or 70mph) limit, that would be helpful too.
Many Thanks.
Keep up the good work!
S: