Speeds of 95mph prompts police crackdown on Blackpool drivers
The traffic count on St Walburgas Road in Layton revealed drivers mainly reached 42mph on the route where there is a 30mph limit – but also recorded some speeds of more than three times the limit.
Council ditches plans for new Blackpool cycle lanes after they prove unpopular.
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Now the council has agreed to install a special bay on the road for a police camera vehicle to park on and monitor traffic.
St Walburgas Road (Google Maps)
It will be on the east side of St Walburgas Road just south of the entrance to the Spire Hospital. There is already a speed camera on the northbound carriageway, opposite the Grange Park housing estate.
The work to install the police only bay will be carried out as part of an upgrade to the cycle lane.
A council report says a traffic counter was installed on St Walburgas Road, near to St Mary’s High School, to monitor south bound traffic in November 2020.
The police allow a margin of 10 per cent plus 2mph over the speed limit, which equates to 35mph, but calculations on St Walburgas revealed most drivers reached 42mph “with a top speed recorded at 95mph.”
The report adds: “Due to this the police want to conduct further enforcement but have nowhere safe to park the police camera vehicle.
“The council, as part of this project, is going to introduce a police only bay on the east side of St Walburgas Road just south of the entrance to the Spire Hospital.”
Initially it had been proposed to create a segregated cycle lane between the Plymouth Road roundabout in Layton and the Four Lanes End roundabout, close to Blackpool[2] Victoria Hospital, with bollards to protect cyclists from traffic.
But a council survey of 252 people found more than 55 per cent were against the proposals, due to its impact on parking and access.
Of the 99 cyclists who responded to consultation, 43 per cent were already satisfied with the route so it was decided to invest in the existing cycling lanes instead.
Following further consultation it has been decided to make no significant changes to the layout but to upgrade the current cycle scheme road markings including extending double yellow lines by 15 metres on the west side of St Walburgas Road.