The volume and speed of traffic through Hampton in Arden has been a subject of complaint for many years and is a major topic in The Neighbourhood Plan. Traffic will only get worse in years to come with planned development in the area such as HS2 and U K Central.
Consequently, the parish council recently organised a meeting with the head of highways planning and safety at SMBC to explore possible solutions.SMBC’s highway budget is committed for the next 3 years but we feel that we need to start a debate about what traffic management measures the village would accept and work towards funding in the years to come.
One of our parish councillors is an experienced, now retired, highways engineer and has looked in detail at what measures would be appropriate to discourage traffic and slow vehicles which choose to use our roads. Road humps and raised tables might not be appropriate as dwellings are close to the road and would be disturbed by additional traffic noise. A possible solution might be to create gateway roundabouts by Diddington Lane and Eastcote Lane with a village zone in between. A lower speed limit could be encouraged with a chicane somewhere between therailway bridge and Diddington Lane supported by‘average speed’ enforcement cameras. We could also look at the possibility of widening the pavement on High Street by creating preferential traffic flows. It is possible that in future funding might come from developers whose schemes will bring an increase in traffic such as HS2 and any housing schemes.
In the months to come we hope to develop a proposition which we will present to the village for consultation. In the meantime if you have any comments please feel free to email them to the parish council.