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29
Oct
Speed limit set to be reduced on A61 between Ripley and Ripon despite objections
Plans to reduce the speed limit on the A61 between Ripon and Ripley look set for approval.
A report due before North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for transport and highways, Cllr Keane Duncan, and corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, recommends the move goes ahead despite objections.
It would see the speed limit on the stretch of road reduced from 60mph to 50mph. The only exception would be at Wormald Greem where the limit is already 40mph.
Four people died in collisions on the road last year – one of which left a young girl orphaned.
The Stray Ferret has covered concerns over road safety on the A61 extensively, including a plea from a South Stainley woman whose parents were killed in a collision on the road 12 years ago.
The report says traffic surveys, undertaken in October last year, concluded the existing mean speeds of 46mph northbound and 47mph southbound meant a 50mph speed limit would be suitable.
The location plan for the proposed speed reduction.
A consultation on the proposed Traffic Regulation Order over the summer received three objections - one of which was from Ripon City Council.
There were concerns a 50mph limit would would result in more queueing and make it harder to overtake agricultural vehicles.
One objector – a Ripon resident – acknowledged the “tragic accident” at South Stainley last year, but said the A61 was “not a dangerous road for excessive speeding”.
However, council officers feel the planned speed reduction is appropriate, as it "reflects current usage and is expected to be self-enforcing".
Cllr Felicity Cunliffe-Lister and Cllr Nick Brown, who represent separate division on the stretch of road, both supported the plans.
In addition, members of the council's Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee, who were asked to give their views on the proposal, “unanimously welcomed” the speed limit reduction, the report adds.
A lower speed limit would not be detrimental to safety, traffic volume or journey times, the report says, adding it will reduce high speeds and increase driver awareness of potential hazards.
Council officers said the lack of overtaking opportunities, and “can be frustrating for motorists”, but that “all classes of road users" will benefit from the proposed speed reduction.
The cost of advertising the Traffic Regulation Order and installing speed limit signage is estimated to be around £5,000, which would be funded by the existing capital budget for road safety.
Locations of accidents on the A61. The council did not provide a time period.
Next steps
The report says this is “effectively the first step” in a series of measures to improve road safety on the A61.
It adds:
The route continues to be the subject of detailed analysis, with the intention of making further improvements over the next year. These improvements will be mainly focused on signing and lining, but existing overtaking opportunities will also be evaluated.
Officers will work closely with stakeholders, such as North Yorkshire Police, so they are included in the decision-making process and will ensure that local members and the community are engaged and kept up to date on progress.
After the speed limit has been reduced later in the current financial year, which ends in April, attention would then turn to improving signage and lining, while the implications of removing an overtaking lane would also be given "detailed consideration".
Councillors are set to meeting on Friday (November 1) to consider the proposal.
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