dobwallsroadsafety-blog

[dobwallsroadsafety-blog]

Progress

In a recent conversation with Jane Pascoe local councillor for Liskeard West & Dobwalls the Group were assured that all matters discussed at the meeting on June 25th were in hand and will report back to us a.s.a.p.

[dobwallsroadsafety-blog]

Why do Motorbikes and Cars Speed Through the Village?

Over half of cars and motorbikes driving through the village are exceeding the speed limit of 30mph. 

At both ends of the village the average speed has been recorded at 53mph with some vehicles and motorbikes exceeding 80mph.

There are no traffic calming measures, There are no speed cameras, There are no police patrol vehicles.

There is nothing to stop or deter speeding vehicles through Dobwalls

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Why Are HGVs and Commercial Vehicles Using Dobwalls as a Short Cut to Moorswater Industrial Estate?

On average over 145 HGV's and commercial vehicles drive through Dobwalls EVERY HOUR as a shortcut to Moorswater Industrial Estate instead of using the Dobwalls bypass.

The majority of these vehicles do not keep to the 30mph limit, the average speed being recorded at 49mph.

There are no signs directing HGV's to the bypass. There is nothing to deter HGVs from using Dobwalls as a shortcut.

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Vehicles and Property Damaged

A sample of 10 residents were asked whether they has experienced damage to their property or vehicles caused by speeding traffic, coaches, buses or commercial vehicles.

8 out of 10 had wing mirrors damaged or broken off

3 Cars have been written off

8 Cars have been scratched, dented or scraped

If the road is not safe for parked cars how can it be considered safe for the residents, especially children?

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Pets and Wildlife injured or killed

Exceeding the 30mph speed limit will increase the possibility of running over a pet or wild animal.

In the last couple of years several pet cats from houses at the bottom of the village have been killed or seriously injured. Hedgehogs and Squirrels are frequently killed on this stretch of road.A cat was injured and died just last week

Nothing been done about the speeding traffic problem in Dobwalls - Why?

[dobwallsroadsafety-blog]

Dobwalls Road Safety Group Meeting

A meeting took place at The Highwayman public house (huge thanks to Paul & staff!) at 5pm on Monday June the 25th.Those in attendance were Jane Pascoe (Council), Geoff Brown (Transport) and local press including representatives Spotlight, The Cornish Guardian and Radio Cornwall. Reports went out on Spotlight, Laurence Reed’s show and were in both local papers!

Prior to that meeting a traffic monitoring device had been in place for a week opposite the village shop;we are still waiting for that data to be analyzed...

At the meeting several ideas were put forward in relation to dealing with the traffic problems but it was decided that the most cost effective solution is to install a permanent traffic monitoring system at each end of the village which takes an average reading of each and every vehicle travelling through. The upshot of that is that anyone for example travelling over 35 mph through the village will automatically get a letter through the post with a fine and possibly penalty points!

Geoff Brown has gone on record (publicly) and has promised to find the funding for this equipment as soon as is practicable. He has a vested interest in keeping Dobwalls safe as he has family here...

He is also arranging for signage at Twelvewoods roundabout directing H.G.V’s etc ... down the by-pass and he will be writing to all the businesses located in Moorswater Industrial Estate encouraging them to use the by-pass and refrain from coming through the village.

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Dobwalls Road Safety Meeting

View Cornwall Live Article

Some of the residents attending the meeting were also those who campaigned for the bypass ten years ago.

One of them, Linda Trevethan, said a member of her family was even involved in a crash on that road.

“My granddaughter got run over in July four years ago,” she said. “She was on her scooter and she was rushed to hospital because of a suspected fractured skull.

“It was never followed up but the ambulance man said that the injuries were consistent with being hit by someone driving at 40mph.

“It will take someone being killed before somebody starts doing something.”

Councillor Pascoe explained that Cornwall Council contractor Cormac left a box to monitor traffic in the village and that they are waiting for the results.

Cllr Jane Pascoe, Cllr Geoff Brown and the Dobwalls Road Safety Group discussing concerns over speeding drivers

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POST OPENING PROJECT EVALUATION A38 Dobwalls Bypass - Five Years After Opening Study

OBJECTIVES

‘To improve the environment of the village by removing through traffic.’

SUMMARY OF SCHEME IMPACTS

“ Observed traffic flows are lower than forecast on all links except the former A38 through the village of Dobwalls, which saw traffic flows of 50% more than forecast at five years after (FYA) opening on the westbound route, and 21% more for the eastbound route”

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Dobwalls residents have had enough of boy racers and drivers turning village road into '80mph speed track'

View Cornwall Live Article

They said even commercial lorry drivers are speeding though the village.

Villagers have said enough is enough after claiming drivers and so-called boy racers speed down their main road every day.

Dobwalls, in south east Cornwall, has seen its main road turned into a dangerous "speeding track", even though it got a bypass to avoid this particular issue in 2008.

In a public meeting at the local pub Highwayman on Monday (June 25), a dozen residents and the Dobwalls Road Safety Group expressed their concerns to local Cornwall Councillor Jane Pascoe and County Hall's portfolio holder for transport Geoff Brown.

Ray, a local, said: “It is a village road but people use it as a major road. We got the bypass in 2008 but today people still remember the old road as it was.

“They also use it because it is a bit shorter.”

He explained that drivers, including those in lorries and commercial vehicles, were regularly speeding at up to 60mph and that local boy racers were driving in circles between the Twelvewoods roundabout and the next, via the village, sometimes reaching what seemed to be 80mph.

“They race each other,” Ray said. “There’s a hill at the end of the road that encourages boy racers to speed up. They’re not the exception, unfortunately, they’re almost the rule.”

[dobwallsroadsafety-blog]

Villagers campaign against speeding

View Cornish Times Article

From the Cornish Times on Tuesday the 19th June 2018 

VILLAGERS who say they are fed up with heavy traffic and speeding drivers have formed an action group.

The Dobwalls by-pass was constructed in 2008, bringing relief to a village which had long been split in half by the noisy and busy A38 trunk road.

But according to people living alongside the former A38, the traffic is still heavier than it should be through the village. Residents say that lorries and and vans are using the road to get to the Moorswater Industrial Estate, rather than going the long way around on the by-pass - and they say that many motorists flout the 30mph speed limit through the village.

The Dobwalls Road Safety group has been formed to tackle the issue. A spokesperson for the group said: ‘We’ve got a lot of local commercial vehicles still coming through here that shouldn’t be, using it as a short cut. And we think that SatNav is directing others that aren’t local through the village to get to Moorswater.

‘People come through here way too fast, and residents are very fed up with it. There’s nowhere safe to cross, and there’s more houses being built here, which will make the problem worse.’

In the long term, the safety group would like to see speed cameras in the village centre, and in the meantime, they hope than monitoring will be done to obtain evidence on the number and speed of vehicles coming through.

A meeting is set to take place on June 25 to discuss what actions could be taken, and Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Transport, Geoff Brown, has agreed to attend.

Giving her backing to the residents’ group is Cornwall Councillor for Dobwalls Jane Pascoe.

‘I’ve been aware of the problems with speeding in Dobwalls village ever since I was elected, and I’ve been trying to get one of the sensor boxes installed,’ she said.

‘I think the by-pass has made it a better village, what we need to make everyone aware of now is that it IS a village. There will be children and the elderly crossing the road, and we need to get people to get their speed down and adhere to the speed limit.

‘We need statistics first, in order to get any equipment such as flashing signs put in place,’ Cllr Pascoe continued.

‘Maybe we also need signs that say ‘alternative route for lorries’.

‘I’m delighted that the residents have taken this into their own hands and I’m very happy to work with the Dobwalls Road Safety Group.’