1. Please provide ‘single traffic counts 24-hour data’ on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) arterial roads and streets within the LTN during 2023 to January 2024 or, if only held on specific date, please provide that data in relation to the Heavitree and Whipton LTN trial. If Devon County Council (DCC) did not collect the full 24-hour data, please explain why and who made the decision not to collect the data.
Monitoring of traffic, cycle and pedestrian flows in the Active Streets trial area has been undertaken using a combination of:
* Manual Classified Counts (MCCs) – Counts of vehicular traffic and cycles (and pedestrians in some cases) on selected dates, manually enumerated using video footage.
* Automatic Traffic Counts (ATCs) – Continuous counts of vehicular traffic, automatically enumerated using inductive loops.
* Sensors – Continuous counts of vehicular traffic, cycles and pedestrians, automatically enumerated using artificial intelligence-based sensors.
Whereas the ATCs and sensors record flows 24 hours a day, the MCCs have been conducted over 12-hour periods, between 07:00 and 19:00. This is standard practice and is consistent with MCCs conducted prior to the start of the Active Streets trial. In general, ATC and sensor flows have also been reported for the same 12-hour periods, to provide consistency across the network. These decisions have been made by officers within the Transport Planning team at Devon County Council.
12-hour flows for the period between 7th August 2023 and 30th November 2023 are available in a spreadsheet linked under ‘Measures of Success’ at devon.cc/exeterstreets. We intend to publish a fuller breakdown of data before the end of June 2024, following the conclusion of the Statutory Consultation in May 2024.
2. Please provide the 28/09/2023 24-hour Manual Classified Counts (MCC) for North Street, immediately north of Fore Street, in relation to the Heavitree and Whipton LTN trial.
Devon County Council can confirm that we hold traffic figures. However, they are intended for future publication once the trial has concluded. Releasing these figures could unfairly bias the trial outcomes. As such, it is reasonable, and in the public’s interest, to exempt it from disclosure under Section 22 Freedom of Information Act 2000 (information held with a view to its future publication.)
However, as per the spreadsheet available under ‘Measures of Success’ at devon.cc/exeterstreets, the average 12-hour total vehicular count recorded on North Street, immediately north of Fore Street, on 28th September 2023 was 4,847.
As is standard for Manual Classified Counts (MCCs), the September 2023 MCC on North Street covered the 12-hour period from 07:00 to 19:00, rather than 24 hours.