HCC washes hands of sliproad, embraces footpath

This response from the HCC Transport Executive, Mel Kendal:

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This response is sent from Councillor Melville Kendal, Executive Member for Environment and Transport, Hampshire County Council

Dear Mr Stead 

Thank you for your email of 11 September.  Hampshire County Council is the highway authority for the local highway network which in respect to your query includes Winchester Road and Nuns Walk. These roads are currently subject to the national speed limit which is an appropriate speed limit for a rural highway with little or no frontage development. The speed limit changes at Whitchurch to 40mph and then 30mph and as more development fronts the highway. This is in accordance with Department for Transport speed limit guidelines. A three year search of injury accidents in the area around Tufton shows two accidents have been recorded by the police. Both accidents resulted in a serious injury, one involved a passenger of a refuse lorry getting out of the vehicle while it was still moving and the other involved a motorcycle hitting the rear of a vehicle while travelling at low speed. High vehicle speed was not a factor in either of these accidents and this record raises no concerns with the County Council.

The County Council is seeking to respond to your concerns regarding a new short section of footway and associated relocation of a traffic sign on the northern side of Winchester Road. This work will be considered for inclusion in a future work programme subject to priority against other similar schemes in the Basingstoke and Deane area.

With regards to the A34 slip road from the A34 to Winchester Road, this section of highway is managed by the Highways Agency. The County Council has no powers to make any changes to the speed limit on this section of highway and I recommend continuing your correspondence with the Highways Agency on this matter.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Melville Kendal
Executive Member for Environment and Transport

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Which is not unexpected, and kind of hopeful in respect of the footpath and associated work / re-definition as a shared cycle path.

Problem? What problem?

My MP George Young raised a query with the Highways Agency regarding the Tufton junction. Here's the reply:

Apparently there have been 'no recorded collisions at this location' therefore 'no further action at this location is required'

Which is curious, because the only official HA communication I have received (on 13 Sept, from their area contractor EnterpriseMouchel) included reference to both recent collisions. Deliberately misleading an MP or just incompetent?

Ahem: THIS and THIS (or just scroll down to see the last two posts. Handy.)

It would appear the Highways Agency cannot use its own internal search tools. I have asked George Young to query the HA about this, and see if there is a different reaction to 'no further action required', as the benchmark was clearly because there had been 'no recorded collisions'.