More questions for the HA

Following a meeting with the Hurstbourne Priors Parish Council (fully supportive BTW) and a local couple last night, the HA has been sent this list of questions:

Dear ...

While we let our MP and your area manger contemplate the political fallout from the HA not discussion this issue in person with the community, could we please clarify some points?

1. How many people have to be killed or seriously injured before the 'business case' can be assembled?

This is not a flippant question, I am genuinely interested in the metrics the HA uses. For example, is a child's life worth more or less than an adult's? Is a UK national worth more or less than a foreign resident?

2. Are there examples elsewhere in the HA network where slip road speed limits have been lowered from the default 70MPH? If there are, what were the criteria for the lowering, and did people have to die or be injured before the lowering occurred?

3. What is the estimated cost to the taxpayer of improving signage and possibly installing frangible reflective plastic 'road pickets' to clearly delineate the one-way / two-way boundary?

4. What is the estimated cost to the taxpayer of reviewing and lowering the speed limit?

Given a number of residents (out of the very small sample contacted so far) have witnessed both cars and HGV's driving up the slip road, then having to reverse back down, can you please advise:

5. How often does the HA expect wrong-way traffic on any given slip road?

6. Is occasional wrong-way traffic on a slip road an acceptable trade-off for lack of spending on more signage?

7. Does the HA have a metric for 'acceptable number of wrong-way incidents per thousand/million car movements' or similar? Basically I want to gauge the HA's appetite to tolerate this sort of occurrence as a fact of life.

8. Finally, given the design of the road means cars almost inevitably travel too fast to stop safely within the DfT's own guideline Sight Stopping Distances, what advice does the HA have for road users to ensure their safety when turning across or exiting this intersection?

Regards