Parish Council speeding reports

click The Residents Association speeding reports for more Speeding reports.

click Parish Council for all other reports.

Hallmark October 1983. A request from the Parish Council to reduce the Lacey Green Main Road speed limit from 40 m.p.h. to 30 m.p.h. and extend the limit to the Loosley Row boundary on "Woodway" has been turned down by the Bucks County Council Highways Dept., on the grounds that the accident rate is too low. The Council are to ask for an explanation of the criteria of why the speed limit is to be extended on the Walters Ash end of the Parish but not on the Loosley Row end of the same road. It was also pointed out at a recent Parish Councl Meeting that the 'increased vision' work being carried out at the 'Crooked Chimney', while welcome, will increase speed.

Hallmark September 1985 Report by Councillor Ray Gosling

Recently we have had another accident outside the school during pick-up time showing once again how dangerous this part of Main Road can be.

The Parish Council has tried to get the speed limit reduced to 30 mph but this has proved not to be possible due to it now being County Council policy not to have a speed limit lower than 40 mph unless there are special circumstances – our school does not qualify we are told!!

We have also requested that the speed limit be extended further out of the village. This requires the passing of a by-law and will be added to the next batch to be: put forward to the legislature. This however is unlikely to be for some years to come.

One action that will happen is the repositioning of the school warning sign further out of the village to give drivers more time to slow down.

Hallmark February 1986 Reporting Parish Pump Politics. By Councillor Ray Gosling. (click Ray & Jill Gosling for more about Ray)

Road safety is still causing concern. With large lorries, speeding traffic, cars obstructing pavements and the dangers associated with parking outside the school, we seem to have more than our fair share of traffic problems for a village as small as ours. The feeling of the Parish Council is. that action has to be taken before another serious accident occurs. Hence we have made requests to the police to monitor the speed of traffic through the village and take action against those who insist on parking on pavements, it would be a shame if these measures produced prosecutions against village residents, so be warned.

Hallmark December 1986. Parish Pump Politics By Councillor Ray Gosling (Ray & Jill Gosling)

With the coming of winter the traffic situation in Lacey Green and Loosley Row has markedly deteriorated.

Along with the well-known problems of parking outside Lacey Green School, speeding and obstruction of pavements, we now have to add the sheer volume of through traffic and dangerous parking outside Hickmans Stores.

The cause of the volume of traffic we believe to be that people are finding our villages a quicker and more convenient route into and beyond Wycombe.

The question of parking outside the shop is quite a different matter. We are pleased that Mr. and Mrs. Norris and family have taken over and revitalised Hickman's Store and we would in no way wish to damage trade, but the irresponsible parking on some of the approaches to the bend and even by parking on the opposite side of the road defies belief. During the rush hours particularly vehicles negotiating ''the bend" take their lives in their hands; all it is going to take is one speeding car, at the wrong time, and we could well have another fatality.

The Parish Council has thought long and hard on what we can do to alleviate these problems. The answer unfortunately is very little but we have decided to carry out an extensive campaign to try and prompt action by the District and County Councils. As part of this, we have already had a meeting with the Thames Valley Police who have agreed to work with us and carry out the following package:

1. A speed check is to be carried out somewhere in the parish in the near future – be warned.

2. Support for the Council is extending footpaths up past The Black Horse and from the Village Hall to Roundlands.

3. Fixed penalty fines for "bad" parking throughout the village i.e. obstruction of footpaths, parking on bends etc.

4. Work with the council in encouraging customers of the shop to use the Village Hall car park – no matter how short the stay.

Hallmark February 1995. report by Councillor Dennis Claydon.

The wheels of local government sometimes turn exceedingly slowly. One virtue needed by a Parish Councillor is patience!

Experience shows that to achieve even a simple solution to a problem takes time – in some cases a very long time – plus many frustrations. The problem of speeding in Main Road, a subject on the agenda of every meeting over the last eight years at least, and still continues, despite meetings with County Officials and various suggestions to resolve the situation.

At present County are not prepared to fund traffic calming measures in Lacey Green, even with financial support from the Parish. Priority for traffic calming seems to be measured by the number of fatal accidents on a given stretch of road rather than trying to prevent them. Disappointingly the long proposed improvements to the A4010 and Woodway junction have also been abandoned.

Hallmark September 1995. report by Parish Councillor Dennis Claydon

The long awaited outcome of the Gate Cottage site on Woodway, Loosley Row was finally resolved in July. Wycombe District Council have granted permission for demolition of the existing cottage, flat, garages and outbuildings and the erection of two detached cottages, garages and the formation of a new access. A lengthy list of conditions, in the interests of visual amenities, highway safety and the privacy of the occupiers of adjacent properties, has been imposed. The width of the highway adjacent to the site will remain the same, but an increased vision splay is to be provided.

Hallmark September 1996. Report by Councillor Tony Molesworth

We believe that we are making progress with the problem of speeding traffic on the Main Road through Lacey Green. A recent meeting with the County Council Traffic Management Liaison Officer was followed by a letter which identified various actions which would be taken. I am being cautious in my comments since previous dealings with the County Council have not invariably produced results, and the latest proposals may turn out to be no exception. However, for the moment, let optimism prevail.

The proposed actions include:

1. Relocation of the ‘bend’ and ‘kill your — speed’ signs at the Southern end of the village further towards Walters Ash.

2. Laying of ‘Dragons' Teeth’ road markings | at each end of the village (subject to authorisation).

3. Installation of road narrowings at three locations:-

–    One for traffic leaving to the North, just before The Whip cross-roads (priority Northbound)

–    One for traffic going North, between the entrance to Stocken Farm and Church Lane (priority Northbound)

–    One for traffic going South, just before St. John's Lacey Green School (priority Southbound)

Also, a proposal will be put before the County Council Traffic and Road Safety Panel in October, that the existing 40 mph speed limit be extended down Woodway (where additional vehicle speed measurements are being taken), further towards Walters Ash, and throughout Loosley Row (except possibly for Woodbank).

There is, of course, nothing in the above that actually prevents drivers from exceeding the speed limit, if they so choose, but these actions should produce some improvement in the quality of driving, even if difficult to evaluate precisely. Given that the cost of the narrowings is likely to be at least £15,000, does everyone agree that it will be money well spent? If the value of additional saved lives plus reduced cost of medical treatment plus any other benefits, exceeds the cost of the scheme, then the answer must be ‘yes, musn’t it?

Your Parish Council has been trying to achieve a suitable level of traffic calming for many years. We hope that the proposed measures will be implemented, and that they will have the desired effect. The direct support of The Residents Association has been of tremendous help, and we much appreciate their efforts.

Hallmark November 1998. Report by Councillor Tony Molesworth. "Idle Thoughts"

The matter of the speed of traffic through Lacey Green seems to be about to resurface, with the Residents Association launching a new initiative. The Parish Council only had partial success in obtaining minor safety measures such as the enhanced entry sign at the Southern end of the village and the Dragon's Teeth road markings. We didn't obtain any road narrowings (which might have been more use!). The main constraints to effective action include (1) The main road 1s a principal route for buses and other traffic, (2) it does not have street lighting, (3) There haven't been enough fatal accidents.

Lacey Green is not regarded by the Bucks County Council or the police as being a dangerous area, and although readers may disagree, this does appear to be true. Calls for a 30mph speed limit are likely to be resisted by the police, on the grounds that a limit perceived as unreasonable by most drivers results apparently in an increase of speed rather than a reduction.

The official policy seems to be almost the complete opposite of that applied to industrial safety legislation and practice, where the fact that there hasn't yet been a serious accident is not accepted as an argument for doing nothing about a potential danger. Of course, the application of HSE type rulings to road operation might result in the re-introduction of the man with the red flag, an overall speed limit of 15 mph, or perhaps a total ban on all private cars!!

It appears that what is required is an improvement in the attitude of drivers, and I would ask residents to think of their own behaviour. When you drive through the village, do you never exceed the 40mph limit? Do you always drive at a speed commensurate with the prevailing conditions of weather, traffic, parked vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists? Of course you do!!

Hallmark May 1999. Lacey Green Parish Council. By Linda Moorcroft

One very cold Saturday morning in early March, a full turn-out of the Parish Council (plus other interested parties) could be seen marching up and down the pavements near the Pink Road /Loosley Hill crossroads, peering into hedgerows and examining the width of the pavements and verges.

As it started to snow and our fingers and toes turned numb, I did ask myself why I had ever become a Parish Councillor! I am very much the “new girl” of the Council and joined when a vacancy came up last year. .I have no particular axe to grind (politically or otherwise), so my only motivation for applying was (and is) the fact that, since our family moved here some five and a half years ago, we have come to value the quality of life we enjoy in Lacey Green, and, for me, this is an opportunity to. do a “little something” to contribute to the well-being of our villages.

On this particular (cold) occasion, we were doing something that has been discussed at every single meeting of the Council since I arrived last July - considering another possible traffic calming scheme which would not detract from the rural feel of the Village. Following advice from the police that gates at each end of the Village might draw attention to the speed limit and to the fact that drivers are entering a residential area, it is likely that the Parish Council will adopt the suggestion, provided that it is practicable to do so (although this is proving a problem at the northern end of the Village because of lack of space) and depending on cost. More work is yet to be done before a final decision is reached - so watch this space.

With so many children and elderly people in the Village it is an issue that I believe is worth endlessly pursuing if it leads to even the smallest improvement in the safety of the roads through the Village. We are keeping a close eye on the scheme in neighbouring counties where 30 mph limits are being introduced in all residential areas including villages previously with higher limits.

2006. Over many years, the Parish Council campaigned for a reduction in the speed limit in Lacey Green & Loosley Row. The 40 mph limit in Lacey Green was considered too high, whilst in Loosley Row only the national speed limit of 60mph was in force! A successful result was finally achieved in 2006, when both villages became subject to a 30mph limit.

Hallmark February 2024. Report by Tim MacGillivray. Traffic

The Parish council has ongoing engagement with Bucks Council about reducing the speed limit between Walters Ash and Lacey Green from 60 mph to mph. In our view the reduction would mean that drivers observing the speed limit approaching the bend just before the school would not have to reduce their speeds so dramatically.

As part of this process, we have sought joint funding from the community board to collect speed data for traffic using this stretch of road. This data will be used with the data collected for traffic approaching Main Road which we hope will reinforce our argument to make these changes.

In addition, we have also made a case for changing the turn options on the junction of Lower Road and Woodway. We have seen a few occasions now where larger vans coming down the hill from the Whip try to turn left into Lower Road and getting stuck between the corner of the turn and the flint wall opposite, blocking the road completely until help arrives.

In addition, turning right out of Lower Road is not an easy or in my view a safe manoeuvre and can result in a two- or three-point turn into the wrong side of the road. Again, we are in discussion to seek funding for this project as the parish council does not have the funds to pay for this ourselves.

Making any significant changes like these takes time to process and there are lots of other pressures on funding to contend with – not least is the need to repair potholes which are a national issue now. Please remember, if you see a damaging or dangerous pothole and you have time to help, please bring this to the attention of Bucks Council through the online facility fixmystreet.buckinghamshire.gov.uk.