Main heading

• bring a consistent approach to the assessment of speed limits
• reduce the number of road accidents
• reduce the number of road causalities
• reduce the severity of road accidents
• improve the quality of life in local communities

In undertaking the review of all A & B roads, in Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, the consultants have produced a speed management assessment for each road. Typically an Authority would only review a handful of speed limits each year, and rarely would these be the full length of road. This review has looked at 1,220 kilometres for all 120+ A and B roads. Not surprisingly this has been a significant undertaking for each Authority.

The use of an external consultancy also provided an objective and independent assessment against the National Model. An explanation of how the speed management assessment framework was used appears in the second Speed Limit Review Newsletter (February 2009). It should be noted that the assessment framework was developed by the Department for Transport to ensure a consistent approach across the country.

The Speed Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) tables provided for each road (these can be downloaded below), carry with them the following qualifications .

1. The assessments, all evidence led, are based on the type of road, accidents in the last 3 years, average daily traffic flows and mean speeds.

2. Three years of accident data, to March 2008, (the most recently available) was used.

3. The DfT definition of a village has been used (see Traffic Advisory Leaflet 2/06, setting Local Speed Limits DfT 01/2006 and Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/04).

4. Around 100 surveys were commissioned to determine mean speeds. These were supplemented by existing data on around 140 sites from the three partner authorities. Where no data was available mean speeds for different road types were assumed using DfT approved figures.

5. The tables have been taken directly from the Stage A review. Therefore these pre-date any discussion with Area Traffic Engineers or The Police. As such these are NOT recommendations and at this stage must be regarded as draft proposals.

6. Discussions that have already been held with Traffic Engineers (in Halton, Warrington and Cheshire) have identified a few sections where the existing speed limit shown on the table is in error. The intention is for the consultants to address these as they develop the detailed plans. These discussion are still on going.

7. No one wants frequent changes of speed limits because they can cause confusion. Again discussions with Traffic Engineers in each Local Authority and the Police have sought to smooth these out when proposed.

8. Some roads are designated for abnormal loads. For some of these roads it could be difficult to implement some speed management proposals and/or place signs appropriately.

9. The nature of accidents is considered as part of the Stage B work. As such the draft proposals presented by the consultants in Stage A only takes into account the number of reported accidents (Killed, Seriously Injures and Slight accidents).

10. Where highways improvements have recently taken place, it is considered appropriate to see whether these improvements do make a positive impact on the accident levels, before deciding whether to proceed with the Speed Limit Review proposals.

11. A similar approach has been adopted when improvement work is scheduled /planned in the coming months.

12. Monitoring of accident levels to assess the effectiveness of schemes will be carried out over the coming months/years.

With the completion of the Stage A:Review of A & B Roads complete, discussions with Traffic Engineers and the Police are taking place to review and assess the proposals, to aid the design of detailed plans. With some 117 roads with some form of proposal this will take some time to complete. Implementation will follow as and when funding is made available by Halton, Warrington and the new Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East Authorities.

Roads have been divided, based on which geographical location they run through. For most Authorities they have also been grouped in A and B roads to reduce the number of file download routines. Each file contains multiple roads. Please check carefully which file contains the road you require.

Please note: The download files tables contain black, red and blue text:

• Black text - indicates that the consultants are making no proposals for a change.
• Blue text -  indicates that the consultants were informed of some local change to the section underway or planned at the time of the review.
• Red text -   indicates a proposal to change either a speed limit or a proposal for a speed management measure.

Cheshire West and Chester 'B' Roads (B5151 to B5463) SMAF -
B5151, B5152, B5153, B5309, B5355, B5374, B5391, B5393, B5394, B5395, B5445, B5463

Please remember to specify which road(s) you wish the table(s) for and write to :-

Bill Keddie
Projects Consultant
Cheshire County Council
Highways Service
Backford Hall
Backford
Chester CH1 6EA