I contacted officers in the council's highways team recently to raise concerns on behalf of residents about dangerous driving practices at the roundabout installed adjacent to the ongoing housing development on the B1281 in Blackhall Colliery.
The main concern expressed by residents and drivers relates to some drivers attempting to negotiate the roundabout on the wrong side of the road when coming up the B1281 from Blackhall towards Hesleden and Castle Eden. Background details can be found here and in additional links on this site: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/07/site-visit-to-prevent-accidents-on-b.html
I have now received a response from the highways office and I've published their comments below in full. Time will tell whether the recommended measures will have the desired effect in reducing the amount of drivers who try to take the roundabout on the wrong side of the road, but if you have any further concerns please contact the council on: help@durham.gov.uk and copy me in to your email for information.
I refer to your recent enquiry below to which I have been asked to respond.
We have previously communicated on the design of the roundabout, etc., through my Head of Service, and it is not my intention to repeat this unless specifically required.
A Stage 3 Road Safety Audit (RSA) has been undertaken, following substantial completion of the roundabout, and found no issues with the geometric design and construction of the roundabout itself.
Of the problems reported in the Audit, three items were actionable and are currently being pursued directly with the developer who has expressed a desire to expedite solutions, these are:
- Provision
of coloured, antiskid surfacing to the central island overrun area –
agreed RSA action.
- Investigation
into the size of the advanced signage installed for the roundabout and its
suitability, given the speed limit – agreed RSA action.
- A review of the street lighting to remove the risk of the ‘see through’ effect – agreed RSA action.
The first two bullet points are for the developer to address directly, however, the third point was possibly the most significant and may be the cause of motorists using incorrect lanes to negotiate the roundabout, although I note that the roundabout has been operational for many months now and local traffic should be aware of its presence.
Officers from our street lighting teams in the Highway Services group have designed a reconfiguration of the original lighting layout which will eliminate this ‘see through’ effect and make the roundabout more prominent, especially to first-time users, however, given the above, if incorrect usage remains this is more likely to be a case of driver behaviour and, other than enforcement measures by the police, there is little that we, or the developer, can do in mitigation.
This redesign has been passed to the developer and it is now a matter for them to programme their works and return to site to address all of the above matters.
As noted above, they are eager to address matters, and I would hope that they will complete these as a matter of priority, however, due to timescales in organising plant, labour, and materials, I would expect this now to be early in the new year.
I would reassure you that the matter is not being ignored and we are working actively with the developer to resolve the issues in relation to the roundabout.
With regard to some of your other comments, I have received no reports, through either the RSA or site inspections, regarding white lining issues associated with the roundabout, although these would be addressed as part of the development process regardless, but this is restricted to the immediate development area.
Issues with apparent speeding were included in earlier correspondence, including the concept of the introduction of the roundabout and why any reduction in speed limit would not align with Council policy, and supported by Durham Constabulary.
While this is outside of my remit, I have looked at the most recent speed survey and road traffic collision data in the area.
The former suggests an average speed of 43.5mph, with an 85th percentile speed of 51mph, both below the prescribed limit and there are no reported collisions, etc. within 300m of the roundabout; those that are recorded predate the construction of the roundabout and many even the planning application/permission.
The last two paragraphs are simply my observations on the data I have to hand and, while I will acknowledge it is not my area of expertise, I do not believe that either the housing development, or the construction of the roundabout to serve it, have created any problems that were not either perceived, perhaps, or pre-existing and the development is being used to reiterate those concerns.
Kind regards
On a related matter I've contacted the council to raise my concerns about the streams of excess water flowing from the fields onto the B1281 at this location. Although water flow should be controlled in any case, my main concern in this instance is about the danger of pooled water freezing over during the coming winter months.
I'll update on this issue as soon as I have a response from the council.