Higher Town Sampford Peverell - Technical Statement Part 1 - Final · 2 days ago · 16. Trace...

Trace Design Consultants Limited, Registered Office: 1A Parliament Square, Parliament Street,

Crediton, Devon, EX17 2AW

Registered in England and Wales No. 08047125

1. This Technical Statement has been prepared to examine the highway information

submitted with the planning application reference 17/01359/MOUT regarding the

outline for the erection of 60 dwellings and construction of a new access to the west of

the site, and the assessment by DCC Highways as to the suitability of the proposed

highway works associated with this planning application. This includes an assessment

of the appropriateness and safety of:

a. The vehicular access

b. All pedestrian and cycle accesses

c. The offsite works by the Listed Bridge to provide a new footpath and crossing

point.

2. Trace Design has reviewed all the relevant information submitted as part of the

planning application, which includes the reports and supporting information provided

as well as the correspondence issued by DCC Highways.

3. Relevant legislation and highways design guidance on a national and County level

have also been reviewed and have been referenced in this assessment when

appropriate.

Assessment of the Vehicular Access

4. The main vehicular access is proposed off the link road that connects Turnpike with

Higher Town. The proposed access is shown in Drawing number 0685-HYD-XX-XX-

DR-TP-106 Revision P4, which was submitted as a single document to the planning

application, superseding Revision P3 which formed part of the Transport Assessment.

5. This Drawing is shown overleaf. This only shows the relevant section of the drawing

for the assessment. The gradient levels also shown as part of the drawing are

considered appropriate:

Technical Statement

HIGHER TOWN, SAMPFORD PEVERELL – PLANNING REFERENCE 17/01359/MOUT – PART 1

Trace Design Consultants Ltd 3 Silverdown Office Park

Fair Oak Close Clyst Honiton

Exeter Devon

EX5 2UX United Kingdom

t: +44 (0)1392 927717 www.trace-design.co.uk




Assessment:

Issue: Road Layout for Residential Estate

6. The road has been designed as a “R31 Traditional Access Way”, as defined in the

Devon Highways Design Guide, which allows up to 50 dwellings provided off a loop

road.

7. The drawing was acceptable by DCC Highways (as stated in the letter issued on 25

May 2018) as well as the design of the internal road as a Traditional Access Way as

stated in the letter issued by DCC Highways on 26 March 2018.




8. This design requires a carriageway 4.8m wide, which provides enough width for a large

vehicle and a car to pass each other.

9. Trace Design Assessment:

a. It is considered and accepted that a R31 Traditional Access Way road layout

may provide enough width for the internal element of the development from the

point where the loop road is provided. This point would start to the east of the

intersection from the access road leading to internal roads to the north and

south as shown in the relevant part of the master plan below (which is shown

as drawing 1238.04 and included as a single document in the planning

application).

b. It is suggested that the section between the site access and the loop road

should provide for a minimum of 5.5m width to allow for two large vehicles to

pass each other. The size of the proposed development is 60 units, which is 10

units over that recommended for the provision of a R31 Traditional Access

Way. It is likely that due to the size of the development, two large vehicles could

occasionally meet up on the road, with the need for one of them to reverse back

to a place which would allow the two vehicles to pass each other. This may

also impact on the link road with one the large vehicles reversing on this road




to let the other vehicle pass, which may lead to safety concerns. It is

acknowledged that the Stage 1 Road Safety raised no objections in terms of

highway safety but in paragraph 3.3 it stated that: “The site access carriageway

width is identified at 4.8m with 2m verges to either side. This width is in line

with the requirements for Manual for Streets, however the audit team would

expect this width to be sued within the estate roads rather than as a width for

the primary access. As part of the detailed design it would beneficial to

reconsider the proposed access width in line with providing a 5.5m carriageway

and adjust the verge widths accordingly”.

Visibility Splays at the Site Access Junction

10. These are provided for a “Y” distance of 43m and from an “X” distance of 2.4m.

11. The letter issued by Hydrock on the 8th of June 2018 with the title “Comments on

Further Objection Letters” states that visibility splays have been provided 1.0m away

from the nearside in either direction and that this is common practice.


a. Manual for Streets is not clear about the distance that should be allowed from

the nearside. It states however that: “The Y distance represents the distance

that a driver who is about to exit from the minor arm can see to his left and right

along the main alignment. For simplicity it is measured along the nearside kerb

line of the main arm, although vehicles will normally be travelling at a distance

from the kerb line. (…)” (paragraph 7.7.3 from MfS).

b. It is considered that the distance of 1.0m may be too much in this case to

provide for a safe access. The nature of the link road, being relatively narrow

and twisty, is likely to have vehicles, mainly cyclists, travelling at 0.5m away

from the kerb line. Visibility splays may be re-designed to provide adequate

visibility.

c. The distance of 1.0m away from the kerb line is not considered to be common

practice based on our experience. This should be applied to roads with wider

carriageway and space for vehicles being able to overtake cyclists comfortably,

which is unlikely to be in this case.




Forward Visibility Splays on the Link Road

13. These have been provided in Drawing 06685-HYD-XX-XX-DR-TP-107 Revision P1 for

the bend located to the south of the proposed site access on the link road leading to

Battens Cross. This drawing as Appendix H of the Transport Assessment.

14. The relevant section of this Drawing for assessment purposes is shown below.




15. The forward visibility splays are based on 85th percentile vehicle speeds of 30mph and

have been provided for a forward visibility distance of 43m following Manual for Streets

guidance.


a. Forward visibility splays appear to have been provided from the centre of the

road, rather than the centre of the inner lane, as recommended in Manual for

Streets (Figure 7.19, which is shown below). It is suggested that the design is

amended to comply with MfS and provide appropriate forward visibility splays.

b. The drawing does not show any details on carriageway width along the section

of the link road between Battens Cross and the site access, which is likely to

provide the main access for development traffic as based on the vehicle trip

distribution from the Transport Assessment. It is suggested that this road

provides a minimum width of 5.5m to ensure that two large vehicles can pass

each other in this section due to the likely occurrence that this may happen

occasionally.




c. The bend where forward visibility splays is provided should be widened to

approximately 6.5m to ensure that two large vehicles can manoeuvre

adequately in case they meet at this point.

d. It is recommended that swept paths for two large vehicles are provided for the

junction of Batten Cross and the section of carriageway leading to the site

access, including the proposed site access junction, to ensure that two large

vehicles will be able to manoeuvre adequately during this section of the road in

the likely scenario that two large vehicles meet occasionally due to the size of

the development.

Assessment of All Pedestrian and Cycle Accesses

17. There are three pedestrian and cycle access points proposed for the development.

18. Cycle Access off the Link Road (at the Proposed Vehicle Site Access)

19. One of the three cycle access points is proposed off the link road that connects

Turnpike with Higher Town and that also provides the main vehicular access to the

site. This has been reviewed in the previous section for the vehicle access and the

same points would apply in this case.

Pedestrian and Cycle Access off Turnpike

20. The main pedestrian and cycle access is proposed off Turnpike to the south of the site.

This access is shown in Drawing number 06685-HYD-XX-XX-DR-TP-108 Revision P3,

which was submitted as a single document to the planning application, superseding

Revision P2 which formed part of the Transport Assessment.

21. This Drawing is shown overleaf. For simplicity, this only shows the relevant section of

the drawing for the assessment.




Assessment:

Visibility Splays

22. Visibility splays have been provided for 85th percentile vehicle speeds of over 40mph.

These splays have been based on the results from the vehicle speed survey

undertaken for this.


a. Visibility splays appear to have been provided to the nearside kerb line, which

is inconsistent with the visibility splays provided on other drawings 1.0m off the

kerb line. It is recommended that these are provided consistently on all

drawings, ideally at 0.5m off the kerb line.

Access Layout

24. This has been designed with the provision of dropped kerbs with tactile paving on both

sides of the road. The crossing on the northern side of the road located within the

application site leads to a footway/cycleway that provides a connection to the proposed

development.





a. This access is considered the main pedestrian access to the site and is likely

to be used by children and older people. Despite the long visibility splays

provided and in order to assign priority to pedestrians and cyclists as

recommended in Manual for Streets two options are suggested for

consideration:

i. Provision of a 30mph vehicle speed limit from approximately 50 to 100m

to the west of the proposed access location that may encourage drivers

to drive slower. This may be accompanied by appropriate signage and

road markings, indicating the use of the crossing by pedestrians.

ii. Provision of a pedestrian refuge if the vehicle speed limit is kept at

40mph to provide for a safer access and reduce waiting time for

pedestrians trying to cross the road. If this could not be provided other

alternatives may be considered in order to encourage walking as a

realistic mode of travel.

Cycle Access for Cyclists Travelling Eastbound

26. The current design does not appear to provide for cyclists travelling from the west to

the site. This only provides a dropped kerb with tactile paving for pedestrians and

cyclists crossing to the opposite side of the road.


a. With the current design it appears that cyclists may need to stop on the road

and do a U-turn with their bicycles to keep travelling towards the proposed

development, which may raise safety concerns. It is suggested to provide a

dropped kerb to the west of the proposed access for cyclists to be able to leave

the main road without the need to stop by the crossing, even more if

pedestrians were waiting to cross and there was no clear space for cyclists to

manoeuvre.

Pedestrian and Cycle Access off Higher Town

28. Another point of access to the site for pedestrians and cyclists is proposed off Higher

Town to the north of the site. This access is shown in Drawing number 06685-HYD-

XX-XX-DR-TP-P-04 Revision P3, which was submitted as a single document to the




planning application and superseded the previous version that was included within the

Transport Assessment following the recommendations from the Stage 1 Road Safety

Audit undertaken.

29. This Drawing is shown below. This only shows the relevant section of the drawing to

be assessed.




Assessment:

Visibility Splays

30. Visibility splays have been provided for 45m on each direction, which should be able

to accommodate 85th percentile vehicle speeds of over 30mph following MfS guidance.


a. Visibility splays appear to have been provided to the nearside kerb line to the

south west of the junction but 1.0m off the kerb line to the north east in the

same drawing. This shows inconsistency with the way visibility splays are

applied and designed. It is suggested that these splays are shown at the same

distance from the kerb line, ideally at a distance of 0.5m off the kerb line in both

directions.

Priority Working

32. Priority working is provided with a give way line to the south west for vehicles to let

other vehicles travelling on the opposite direction to come through first.


a. The carriageway width is not provided at relevant sections of the carriageway.

This is considered relevant to understand the location of any pinch points along

the route. It is suggested that the width at the give way line should be provided

and should include a minimum width of 4.8m to allow for a large vehicle and a

car to pass each other.

b. Depending on the carriageway width available it may be appropriate to consider

the provision of passing bays with a minimum of 5.5m width at selected

locations to allow for two large vehicles to pass each other.

c. It is also suggested to provide carriageway width just to the north east of the

red line boundary to consider the impact of the building that seems to protrude

on the carriageway in order to identify any width constraints and design any

mitigation measures needed.




Pedestrian Link to Grand Western Canal Path

34. An additional point of access for pedestrians is proposed to the south west of the site

with a segregated footway parallel to the road that provides access to Battens Bridge

and the Canal. The proposed route is shown in Figure 4.3 of the Transport Assessment

and is shown below.

35. The relevant section of proposed access for assessment is shown below. This is

included as a single drawing within the planning application and supersedes the

previous version included within the Transport Assessment. This access is shown in

Drawing number 06685-HYD-XX-XX-DR-TP-0110 Revision P2.




Assessment:

Inconsistency and/or Lack of Information Provided on the Design

36. The proposed route and the crossing provided on the southern side of Turnpike does

not show continuity with the footway shown in Figure 4.3.


a. There is no connection provided between the dropped kerb at the crossing and

the proposed pedestrian route leading to the Canal Path. It is recommended

that this is included and shown even on a conceptual design.

b. The extract from the relevant section of the HMPE plan shown below and

extracted from Appendix C of the Transport Assessment shows that the land

proposed to provide the segregated footway is not highways land. It is

suggested for the applicant to confirm that this land would be available for

development as stated within the Transport Assessment.




c. The proposed master plan, which was submitted with drawing reference

1238.04, does not include the area included for development of the proposed

pedestrian link within the red line boundary. This is shown in the relevant

section of this drawing overleaf. This potential inconsistency is corroborated by

Figure 4 “Land Ownership Plan” of the Design and Access Statement submitted

as part of the planning application (Replacement Version January 2018) and

also shown overleaf.




d. Finally, and also showing a potential inconsistency, the Design and Access

Statement submitted as part of the planning application (Replacement Version

January 2018) shows a different route for the proposed pedestrian connection.

This is shown in the relevant section of the design concept for the site shown

in Figure 12 of this document and shown overleaf.




e. It is suggested that more and clearer information is provided regarding the

proposed route, feasibility and deliverability of this proposal.

Assessment of Offsite Works

38. Offsite works have been proposed at the junction of Turnpike / Higher Town and Lower

Town with the development of a new footway that will provide a connection between

the existing footway provided at the southern side of Turnpike to the west with the

pedestrian footbridge to the east.

39. These proposed offsite highway works are shown in Drawing number 0685-HYD-XX-

XX-DR-TP-P-05 Revision P, which is included as part of the Transport Assessment

(Appendix L). This Drawing is shown overleaf. This only shows relevant section

considered for the assessment.




Assessment:

Visibility Splays

40. Visibility splays are shown 1.0m off the nearside kerb line. Visibility splays are sub-

standard. DCC Highways has raised no objection to the scheme.


a. Visibility splays should be consistent and realistic. Given the nature of the road

vehicles are likely to travel closer to the kerb line and visibility splays should be

provided 0.5m off the kerb line.

b. Despite the sub-standard visibility splays provided this is considered to be an

improvement to the local highway network in its existing situation, which




provides further priority to pedestrians as recommended in Manual for Streets

design guidance.

SUMMARY:

· Assessment of the appropriateness and safety of the vehicular access:

o It is suggested to ensure that carriageway width is 5.5m minimum between

Batten Cross and the point within the application site where internal loop road

starts.

o It is suggested that forward visibility splays on the link road to the south of the

proposed site access is designed in accordance with Manual for Streets.

o It is suggested that swept paths are undertaken for the section between Batten

Cross and the point within the application site where the internal loop road

starts to ensure that two large vehicles can pass each other.

o It is suggested that visibility splays are all provided at a 0.5m distance away

from the kerb line.

· Assessment of the appropriateness and safety of all pedestrian and cycle

accesses:


from the kerb line.

o It is suggested to provide a design for the pedestrian and cycle access off

Turnpike that either includes a 30mph scheme with appropriate traffic calming

measures or provides physical infrastructure to accommodate and encourage

walking as a realistic mode of travel if the vehicle sped limit is kept at 40mph.

o It is suggested to provide further information on existing carriageway width on

Higher Town to identify any constraints where the proposed pedestrian and

cycle access is proposed to allow for the appropriate width for vehicles to pass

each other.

o It is suggested to provide further information that confirms the deliverability of

the proposed pedestrian link to the Canal path.

· Assessment of the appropriateness and safety of the offsite works by the Listed

Bridge to provide a new footpath and crossing point:


from the kerb line.

Higher Town Sampford Peverell - Technical Statement Part 1 - Final · 2 days ago · 16. Trace...

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