Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
Your Lib Dem team for Cheadle West & Gatley Learn more
by Lib Dem team on 18 July, 2014
A few months ago, after concern about speeding from local residents, the Lib Dem team asked people on Clifton Drive, Windsor Avenue, Wilcott Road, Barngate Road and Newby Drive for their views on traffic calming in that area. We wanted to get in as many replies as possible so we delivered two copies of the letter a few weeks apart. One resident on Clifton has also gone door-to-door asking for views and we’re very grateful for that help.
A number of different suggestions had been made as to how traffic could be slowed down and rat-running reduced and we asked residents to rank them in order of preference, from first to last. As people might prefer nothing at all to be changed, we included that as an option.
The most popular proposal by a big margin was to introduce a 20mph limit in the area (Clifton, Windsor, Wilcott, Barngate and Newby).
Next most popular was the “do nothing” option, meaning most residents would prefer no changes to any of the physical measures (blocking the road at the junction of Windsor and Park, speed humps or chicanes). The three physical measures were all similar in popularity and all a long way behind either a 20mph zone or do nothing.
The Lib Dem team will now ask the council to formally consult on a 20mph zone and, if it’s supported by residents, to implement it.
Breakdown of responses – how residents ranked each option:
| Road | Number of responses | 20mph | Block road | Chicanes | Speed Humps | Do Nothing |
| Clifton Drive | 15 | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 2nd |
| Windsor Avenue | 9 | 1st | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 2nd |
| Wilcott Road | 2 | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 5th | 1st |
| TOTAL | 26 | 1st | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 2nd |
If anyone would like to see the (anonymised) house-by-house data we’re very happy to provide it.
4 Comments
I noticed the new 20 limit sign at the start of Springfield Rd. and 3 or 4 days later witnessed the regard that it received. As I walked up from Foxland Rd. I was passed – in the opposite direction – by two motorcyclists doing ‘wheelies’ at a speed that must have been over 50! Their speed and black helmets and leathers made them impossible to identify or read number plates. That area is packed with schoolchildren at times from nearby schools. Signs and laws only deter if enforced!
Hi David – even when enforced, speed limits are frequently ignored. I don’t think anyone has ever claimed that 20mph speed limits are a panacea and that suddenly everyone will drive around at 19mph. It’s never happened before with any other speed limit (enforced or otherwise) and I can’t see it happening at any time in the future.
There will always be idiots – and from the sound of it, the motorcyclists you saw would certainly have been stopped by the police had they been spotted.
However, we also have a lot of evidence that 20mph limits do slow down traffic and make our roads safer, and I think that’s worth doing.
can i ask how and when people were consulted? i live on Windsor and wasn’t consulted.
are you going to consult again?
Hi Ian,
If you live on Windsor you would have had two leaflets through your door on this issue back in April and May, though I know leaflets can get missed.
You’ll get a letter from the Council – probably in the Autumn – consulting you on the 20mph limit proposal.