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I refer to your letter of 22 March 2006 which has been passed to me. As you point out, new guidelines are anticipated in the very near future. Given that this is the case, I believe at this late stage it would be premature to undertake reviews in advance of these guidelines. You may, however, be assured that once the new guidelines are available, reviews will take place. I have asked that Hulland Ward is high on the list for review. You are of course quite correct in that the Police can and do enforce speed limits and that to the extent the use of the word "unenforceable" in respect of new speed limits is strictly speaking incorrect. However, the Police have limited resources available to them and must, therefore, prioritise their efforts in enforcement. They also have a duty, in common with the County Council to reduce accidents particularly those resulting in injury. Clearly, therefore, resources must be aimed at those locations where accidents resulting from speed are a problem. I am pleased to be able to report that Hulland Ward does not have a bad accident record. For a controlled crossing to be installed, there needs to be large volumes of both traffic and pedestrians wishing to cross. Whilst the County Council is prepared to be far more flexible than the Highways Agency in this respect there still needs to be significant demand. There also needs to be a crossing point which is either well used or which is likely to be so were a crossing installed. A number of site observations have been undertaken within Hulland Ward to establish volumes of traffic and pedestrians wishing to cross. Unfortunately, even when viewed at times when children are making their way to school, the pedestrian crossing movements are not, by comparison to many other locations, heavy. It was also noticed that there were a number of locations where crossing occurred and that these were sufficiently far apart to suggest that ever were a crossing installed, it may not attract the majority of pedestrians. I regret that the County Council does not keep a register of village speed limits as a separate item. However, I am aware of a significant number of villages where a 40mph limit exists in addition to those that you have mentioned. I hope the above explains why decisions, which you do not necessarily agree with, have been made. I also hope that the future considerations relating to village speed limits is clear. |