Traffic survey request updates

On occasion over the past few years, in response to concerns expressed by residents about speeding vehicles along the A1086 in Blackhall Colliery and at Blackhall Rocks, I have asked for a series of traffic surveys to be carried out to enable the authorities to gather evidence, evaluate the extent of a problem where it exists and then determine whether any mitigating measures might be needed to address residents’ concerns. 

As a result, surveys have been carried out in both Blackhall Colliery (please see post dated Monday 30 January 2017 for background details) and at Blackhall Rocks (please see post dated Monday 27 April 2020 for background details). However I have received additional correspondence recently from residents reporting incidents of speeding vehicles in other locations along the A1086.

Earlier this year I contacted the highways section at county hall and the traffic management office at Durham police to request an additional traffic survey at the northern end of the A1086 Coast Road at Blackhall Colliery (from the Welfare Park down to The Hardwick) and I was assured this would be carried out in due course. I also requested a Community Speed Watch initiative be carried out at Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks to enable residents to participate if they so wished.

Unfortunately both these requests have been unavoidably delayed, in part as a result of restrictions imposed by the current Covid-19 pandemic and partly because of the weight of public demand across the county for traffic surveys. However I have contacted the council's traffic asset management team and Durham police again this morning to ask for an update on progress with my requests, and also to ask for an additional traffic survey to be carried out at those locations that have not already been surveyed. This would have the desired effect of joining up all the separate speed surveys along the A1086 Coast Road from Blackhall Colliery to Blackhall Rocks. I've reproduced this correspondence below in full:

Good morning all,

 

My purpose in writing is to request an update on my request earlier this year for a speed survey to be carried out along a stretch of the A1086 passing Blackhall Colliery Primary School. This follows concerns expressed by residents about speeding traffic at this location (emails to/from the traffic management team dated 14 February 2020 refer). This would also supplement a previous speed survey carried out in 2017 along the A1086 from Fifth Street to St Joseph’s RC church in Blackhall Colliery.

 

I have now received additional reports from residents of speeding vehicles along the Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery and the Hart Crescent junction at Blackhall Rocks. Residents are asking if a speed survey could be carried out at this location to supplement the survey(s) referred to above, and the survey carried out earlier this year at Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks. This would join up a series of surveys from the approach to Blackhall Colliery from Horden in the north to the opposite end of the A1086 Coast Road at Broad Road, Blackhall Rocks in the south.

 

As you will be aware from previous correspondence some residents in Blackhall Rocks were not persuaded by the outcome of the traffic survey carried out in January 2020 at Broad Road and I suggested at the time that a Community Speed Watch could be carried out at this location to enable residents to participate themselves. My request was confirmed earlier this year in correspondence from the police, with an assurance that a CSW could be carried out at the appropriate time.

 

I acknowledge that delays in carrying out these requests and initiatives have been unavoidable because of both the volume of public demand and the impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. However I would be grateful if you could update me on progress with the requests outlined in this correspondence to enable me to respond to public concerns about traffic related matters on the A1086 Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks.

 

I will update on progress when I have a complete response from the highways department and Durham police.