Work set to begin on Ham and West Park road safety schemes

New 20mph speed limits are being introduced in Ham and West Park to improve road safety and encourage more walking and cycling.

The speed limits form part of two ‘Safer and Sustainable Travel’ schemes, which aim to improve local travel in ways that benefit whole communities and make them safer and healthier places to live.

Ham and West Park are busy areas, with around 4,000 households combined, as well as several schools. They also have two of the highest rates of cyclist collisions in the city.

The schemes have been developed in consultation with local residents and include other traffic calming measures in addition to the new speed limits.

Additional improvements in Ham include:

*       a new mini-roundabout at the junction of Beacon Park Road and Fircroft Road
*       speed humps on Abbotsbury Way
*       a no-stopping order on the central verge of Ham Drive, outside Mayflower School
*       additional on-street parking spaces
*       road marking improvements

In West Park there will be:

*       a new mini-roundabout at the junction of Little Dock Lane and Honicknowle Green
*       new bollards on the Parade Road footway
*       bus boarders on Honicknowle Green and Ringmore Way
*       traffic calming features and dropped crossing points

When complete, the two schemes will improve access to Plymouth’s strategic cycle network – which passes through the two areas – and complement the Cycle Safety Fund improvements that are being made between Central Park and Honicknowle.

Work is due to get under way in Ham on Monday 10 February and a full list of planned works is available at www.plymouth.gov.uk/hamsafertravel. In West Park work is due to start on Monday 3 March and a full list of planned works is available at www.plymouth.gov.uk/westparksafertravel. The scheme web pages will be regularly updated during the works, which will finish by Monday 31 March.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “These schemes will make it easier and safer for local residents, particularly pedestrians and cyclists, to travel around Ham and West Park. We are committed to investing in improvements like these to help ensure our streets are as safe as they can be for local communities.”

Councillor Philippa Davey, the Council’s Cycling Commissioner, said: “20mph zones reduce the number of road casualties and their severity. Lower traffic speeds also help to make people feel safer when they are walking and cycling and improve local residents’ quality of life, as well as help to reduce pollution.”