Concerns prompt fresh bid to curb speeding in North Yorkshire (From York Press)

Concerns prompt fresh bid to curb speeding in North Yorkshire

12:56pm Friday 11th January 2013 in News By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

VILLAGES in North Yorkshire where safety fears have been raised could get new speed signs in a fresh bid to tackle the problem.

Vehicle-activated signs (VAS) which display the speed limit and alert drivers are now being used at accident blackspots but other communities whose roads do not meet the criteria for permanent measures have also called for them to be available.

North Yorkshire County Council, together with the region’s 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership, is now introducing a protocol for the temporary solar-powered signs in areas where there are local concerns, with 14 of the signs set to be installed across North Yorkshire.

Ryedale is the first district where potential sites have been listed. A report going before a county council meeting next week says Hovingham, Nawton and Beadlam, Wharram-le-Street, Wilton and Wombleton could be included in response to previous concerns about speeding.

Details of possible sign locations for other North Yorkshire districts will emerge soon.

The report by Allan McVeigh, the council’s road safety manager, said each district could have a maximum of two signs, which would be placed in a particular parish for up to six weeks and then transferred to other areas on a “rotational” basis, with the first phase of the scheme running for 54 weeks.

Each sign would cost about £2,500, meaning the initial cost of the scheme would be about £35,000, with the council covering the bill at first. Parishes will pay the installation charges, ranging from £300 to £400, and meet the bill for moving the signs around their district. T

The venture will be assessed throughout, and at the end of the initial phase before the success of the scheme is reviewed, said Mr McVeigh’s report.

“The evaluation criteria and process is currently under development, but will consider the level of interest, satisfaction levels, costs and effectiveness. On completion of the initial phase, a further report will be presented to the council’s executive and a decision will be taken on whether to roll the scheme out further.”

The council’s Ryedale area committee will be updated on which parishes should get the temporary signs when it meets next Wednesday.