Councillors have agreed to end the Active Streets trial in Heavitree and Whipton in Exeter.
The Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee (HATOC) today (Monday 3 June) approved the suspension of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders for Hamlin Lane, Whipton Lane and Vaughan Road “as soon as practicable”, while measures in Ladysmith Road/Park Road and St Marks Avenue will be removed after the end of the school summer term.
Subject to a safety audit, it was agreed that planters which narrow some roads should be kept in place to slow traffic.
Further discussions will now be held with all schools in the trial area, disabled blue badge holders and representatives of people with protected characteristics (such as disabled people, older people and carers) for more detailed feedback on the impact of the scheme.
Focus groups will also be organised with community leaders and residents to identify measures which can restrict rat-running and enable more people to walk and cycle.
The trial got underway last August after it was approved by the committee in June 2023.
The initial trial was for six months, extended to nine months following an amendment to include taxis through the bus gates. It introduced three temporary physical traffic filters and two bus gates, along with temporary changes to waiting restrictions on Ladysmith Road, with the intention of reducing traffic volumes on residential streets in Heavitree and Whipton, to create safer and more attractive conditions for walking and cycling.
A consultation running throughout the trial ended last month, and a report at today’s meeting stated that the consultation found there was “a significant level of opposition.”
A total of 8,952 responses were received to the statutory consultation, of which 82% of responses were opposed to the various scheme elements and 18% in support.
The report before the committee stated that the consultation responses revealed, “some members of the community have found the trial beneficial, and this has had a positive impact particularly for those who are able to walk and cycle, but a disproportionately higher number of the community have voiced that the trial has had a detrimental effect.”
Examination of responses identified some positive results for those with various disabilities but it also identified a significant negative impact of the trial on vulnerable people, particularly those with certain disabilities and older members of the community.
Traffic monitoring recorded large reductions of traffic in the vicinity of the bus gates and traffic filters on Ladysmith Road, Hamlin Lane and Vaughan Road. However, there were increases in traffic in other areas, including North Street and part of Sweetbrier Lane (between the Whipton Lane and Vaughan Road junctions).
Traffic levels also increased on most of the boundary road locations, with the largest increase on Honiton Road (east of Sweetbrier Lane), where flows increased by approximately 1,900 vehicles over a 12-hour period.
Data from single day manual counts found that levels of cycling increased on most residential streets and boundary roads. However, at the six locations subject to continuous monitoring, the picture was mixed, with increases at two locations and decreases at four locations. Numbers of pedestrians increased in two of these same six monitoring locations, with no change in one location and a reduction in three locations.