STRATEGIC PLANNING & TRANSPORT POLICY

REPORT AUTHORISATION FOR DISTRIBUTION

Project

FREIGHT MANAGEMENT

Document

A Review of Heavy Goods Vehicle Traffic

Using the A368 and B3134

I confirm I am satisfied with the technical content and quality of the above report and I authorise it for publication.

Project Officer:………………………………… Richard Matthews

Date:…………………………………………… 5^th November 2006

Additional Comments (if required)

Strategic Planning Manager: ……………………………………………………

Date: ……………………………………………………

CONTENTS


1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………….…….…..	3
2. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..	5
3. BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………….	6
4. SURVEYS………………………………………………………………………...	8
5. SURVEY ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………	11
6. POTENTIAL FOR RE-ROUTING……………………………………………..	14
7. CONCLUSIONS.………………………………………………………………...	15

APPENDIX 1 – Roadside interview survey form……….…………………………	17

LIST OF TABLES..………………………………………………………………….

LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….

LIST OF TABLES

Survey costs	Table 1.
A368 west of Ubley - HGV traffic eastbound – 13 July 2006	Table 2.
B3134 Burrington Combe (site 1) - HGV traffic eastbound – 13 July 2006	Table 3.
B3134 Paywell Farm (site 2) - HGV traffic westbound – 13 July 2006	Table 4.

LIST OF FIGURES

Location of the A368 and B3134.	Figure 1.
Location of interview and manual count survey sites.	Figure 2.
Location of the Automatic Traffic Counters	Figure 3.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1. The purpose of this report is to determine the numbers of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) using the A368 and B3134 as a ‘through’ route. Local residents have expressed concern about the level of HGV[1] traffic using this route. This report sets out the findings of the HGV interview and manual count surveys that were undertaken on the A368 and B3134 in July 2006. The analysis of the data gathered by the surveys establishes the origins and destinations of the vehicles using these routes and identifies the proportion of ‘through’ traffic.

1.2. This report sets out the background issues and then describes an evaluation as to which HGV journeys are using ‘appropriate’[2] routes and which are not. The North Somerset Local Transport Plan (LTP) encourages freight to use the strategic road network and discourages use of the non-strategic road network, such as narrow rural roads. North Somerset Council (NSC), in common with other transport authorities, is required to strike a balance between the needs of the haulage industry, who have a critical role in delivering the economic performance of the region, and the mitigation of the environmental and health impacts of freight haulage on the towns and villages in the area.

1.3. The results of the survey in Ubley on the A368 indicate that 88% of HGVs using the A368 (eastbound) were undertaking local journeys and hence were travelling along an appropriate route. Approximately 79% of HGVs using the B3134 (both directions) were undertaking local (and therefore appropriate) journeys.

1.5. The report recommends that dialogue be maintained with freight operators who are to be encouraged to use the strategic road network wherever this is possible, and that residents affected by HGV traffic along the A368 and B3134 should be kept informed of progress.

2. INTRODUCTION

This report reviews the results of the surveys of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) travelling on the A368 and B3134 (see figure 1), which were undertaken in response to the concerns of local people (chiefly at Banwell) as to the volume of HGV traffic along these roads. Local people believe that the HGVs are a significant nuisance because in certain locations the road is of sub-standard width. This is perceived as a threat to safety and property and also as inconvenient to other traffic. In response to these complaints, Somerset County Council (SCC) in partnership with NSC, carried out HGV traffic counts and surveys.

This report contains the following:

· The background section reviews HGV and other commercial traffic, journey times, economic issues and regional desire lines.

· The survey sections describe the arrangements of the interview and traffic counting sites with a detailed plan of arrangements, costs, health and safety and other operational issues. They conclude with the results obtained from the surveys of the A368 and B3134.

· The conclusions section of the report draws together and evaluates the results of the surveys.

3. BACKGROUND

3.1. HGV Routes

The region has a strategic road network that provides a variable level of service for HGV traffic. A regional freight map has been developed, which has been adopted as part of the regional transport strategy. This map does not show the A368 or B3134 as suitable to be part of the strategic freight network.

NSC does not support the use of smaller, unsuitable roads unless HGV operators have no other choice but to use these routes either because their origin or destination requires them to, or because using an alternative routes would result in an unacceptable detour.

3.2. Journey times

Shorter journey times is one of the incentives for HGV operators to use the non-strategic network. However strategic routes tend to provide better levels of service and hence higher speeds than non-strategic roads. The higher speeds achievable on the strategic routes may minimise the journey time advantages that HGV operators perceive to gain by using the A368 and B3134.

3.3. Economic issues

With pressure to minimise costs and journey times there is little incentive to make real or perceived detours using the strategic freight routes when cheaper and faster journeys could be achieved through using the non-strategic road network. HGVs making local journeys should be treated separately from HGVs making long distance trips, as the proportion of extra cost to freight operators to make an alternative route may be much more significant.

4. SURVEYS

4.1. Arrangement of interview sites.

The A368 and B3134 (Figure 1) were examined before the surveys were undertaken in order to identify the optimum location from both health and safety perspective and transport data collection perspective. Criteria such as space for HGVs to stop, parking for the enumerator’s vehicles, visibility and safety were considered.

Figure 1.

Location of the A368 and B3134.

The A368 roadside interview site was located in a lay-by just to the west of Ubley (Figure 2). One site was used which counted all HGV traffic and interviewed as many of the HGVs as possible travelling east. The same setup was used for the two sites on the B3134. The site at Burrington Combe (site 1) monitored HGVs travelling south-east white the site at Paywell Farm (site 2) monitored HGV traffic heading in the opposite direction. It was difficult to find suitable and safe sites to conduct the surveys which resulted in the separation of the survey sites on the B3134 and the location of just one direction survey site on the A368. The origin and destination and manual count surveys were operational from between 7am and 7pm.

Figure 2.

Location of interview and manual count survey sites.

Paywell Farm

Westerly traffic flows

Ubley Village

Easterly traffic flows

Burrington Combe

Easterly traffic flows

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved (Somerset County Council)(100023366)(2006).

4.2. Safety

SCC uses the traffic data collection team Health and Safety Manual to identify the health and safety requirements of the origin and destination surveys. This manual stipulates that while undertaking roadside interviews:

· All sites will be inspected by a senior member of the data collection team and will be subject to a risk assessment;

· A minimum of one police officer will be present on site, the provision of additional officers will be at the discretion of the police;

· All staff will be briefed by the site supervisor before work begins;

· High visibility clothing will be worn at all times;

· The site will be signed by a person trained to Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual standard;

· No work on the carriageway will be undertaken during bad weather conditions or poor visibility;

· All staff vehicles will be parked safely off the carriageway and not block visibility splays and footways;

· The supervisor will carry a mobile phone and first aid kit in case of emergencies; and

· ‘Give Way’ signs will be placed near the exit of the site, and drivers will be warned to take care when merging with traffic passing the site.

4.3. Traffic counting and interviews

The procedure for interviewing the HGV drivers involved the following steps:

· The police signalled for the HGV to pull into the lay-by;

· Enumerators then asked the drivers a series of set questions such as the details of their previous stop and their next stop (which is termed their origin and destination);

· The drivers’ replies would then be recorded on a roadside interview form; and

· Simultaneously enumerators counted all HGV and other traffic that was either interviewed or passed by using a standard vehicle classification form as shown in Appendix 1.

4.4. Automatic Traffic Counters

Automatic traffic counters (ATC) were installed on the A368 and B3134 for several weeks before and during the survey date. This is a relatively inexpensive and useful method for monitoring daily traffic flows over long periods of time and is able to differentiate between several different classes of road vehicle. The ATC data was used to determine whether HGV traffic on the day of the interview survey was representative of ‘normal’ HGV traffic on a weekday. This is a particularly sensitive issue with local residents who have a suspicion that HGVs avoid the interview site when interviews are being conducted and therefore the results of the survey may underestimate actual HGV numbers.

Figure 3.

Location of the Automatic Traffic Counters

4.5. Costs

The total cost of undertaking the A368 and B3134 surveys was £12,300. The distribution of the costs is shown in the table below (Table 1).

Table 1.

Total survey costs

Allocation	Cost (£)
Enumerators	1,600
Police	4,800
Atkins (Signing of sites)	2,000
Site visits, ATC installation/removal	1,000
Survey organisation and supervision	1,400
Data analysis	1,500
Total costs	12,300

5. SURVEY ANALYSIS

5.1 A368 survey

The surveys counted a total of 26 HGVs on the A368, travelling in an easterly direction over a 12-hour period. Of these 25 (96%) were interviewed. It is considered that such a proportion is adequate for assessing the journeys of all HGVs using this route.

The results of the origins and destination survey were categorised into main origin and destination pairs. A total of 10 origins and 11 destinations were identified resulting in 19 main origin and destination pairs.

Table 2 below illustrates the origin and destination routes and highlights routes that have a local origin and destination.

Table 2. A368 west of Ubley (Site 3) - HGV traffic eastbound – 13 July 2006

The survey revealed that 88% of HGVs travelling along the A368 were using an appropriate route.

In order to limit the number of OD pairs some origins and destinations which are in close proximity have been merged. OD pairs were then categorised as either ‘access’, ‘local area’ or ‘through-routes’. By access we refer to HGVs that have origin or destination on or very near the surveyed route. Local refers to HGVs, which have an origin or destination in the local area (adjacent or within approximately 10miles or less radius from the surveyed routes) that would justify their use. HGVs that were making longer journeys and that did not have an origin and destination in the local area were referred to as using the road as a through-route.

The ATCs on the A368 showed an average of 68 HGVs travelling along the route each weekday from the 13^th July to 26^th July 2006. The ATC counted 69 HGVs on the day of the survey, that demonstrates that the HGV volumes on the day of the survey were representative of a normal day of HGV traffic. The number of HGVs counted by the ATC is higher than that manually counted because the ATCs also include smaller HGVs, coaches and some types of farming vehicles.

5.2 B3134 surveys

The surveys counted a total of 85 HGVs at the site near Burrington Combe (site 1) travelling in an easterly direction over a 12-hour period. Of these 58 (68%) were interviewed. A total of 71 HGVs were counted at site 2 (Paywell Farm) travelling in a westerly direction. Of these a total of 57 (80%) were interviewed. It is considered that such a proportion is adequate for assessing the journeys of all HGVs using this route.

Table 3 below illustrates the origins and destinations for HGVs travelling through site 1 and the origins and destinations for site 2 are shown in Table 4.

The survey demonstrated that 86% of eastbound and 72% of westbound HGVs travelling along the B3134 were using an appropriate route.

The ATC data showed an average of 200 HGVs using the route in both directions on weekdays between 3^rd July and 30^th July. The ATCs counted 206 HGVs on the day of the survey, which demonstrates that the day of the survey was representative of average daily HGV traffic.

Table 3.
B3134 Burrington Combe (site 1) - HGV traffic eastbound – 13 July 2006

Table 4. B3134 Paywell Farm (site 2) - HGV traffic westbound – 13 July 2006

6. POTENTIAL FOR RE-ROUTING

This assessment indicates that there is some scope for the re-routing of some or all of the 12% of HGVs currently using the A368 and 14-28% of HGVs currently using the B3134, to the strategic freight route network.

6.1. Scope to limit HGV traffic

Despite the legitimate concerns of the local residents, methods to physically limit HGVs using the A368 and B3134 would be difficult to enforce as it could be reasonably argued that the substantive majority of HGVs are using the route appropriately. In addition, indications from Avon and Somerset Police are that they would be unlikely to enforce any restriction.

6.2. The Role of the Freight Quality Partnerships

The FQP is a forum for dialogue between local government, the police, the freight operators, their representative organisations and other interested parties. The Somerset FQP was set up in 2000 and has been meeting quarterly. In 2003, NSC set up a similar forum to discuss freight issues within its area. The discussions in the NSC forum are being used to inform the Bristol and Neighbouring Authorities FQP, which was also set up in 2003, to discuss freight issues arising in the sub-region. The alternative routes for HGVs to use instead of A368/A371 through Banwell have an affect on the road network in Somerset as well as Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset. The issues raised by the results of the surveys will be discussed in these FQPs. They will have a key role for NSC and the freight operators to discuss their views to enable progress to be made on improving both the quality of life for residents whilst addressing the needs of the freight operators.

7. CONCLUSIONS

This report has:

· Set out the objectives for the HGV surveys on the A368 and B3134;

· set out how the surveys were carried out;

· evaluated the results of the surveys; and

· considered the viability of re-routing HGV journeys.

The main findings of this report are:

1. that the substantive majority of HGVs using the A368 and B3134 do so due to the lack of a reasonable alternative route;

2. that there is scope (dependant on the length of the diversions) for the re-routing of a limited number of HGVs onto the strategic freight route from the A368 and B3134; and

3. that the FQPs have a central role to play in facilitating HGV movement from routes such as the A368 and B3134.

In summary, this report has concluded that the majority of HGVs are using the A368 and B3134 because of the absence of a viable alternative route using the strategic road network and that the use of alternative routes would incur significant additional costs on the HGV operators.

Based upon these results, the conclusions are that:

1. dialogue is continued with HGV operators regarding the re-routing of some HGVs from the A368 and B3134 wherever this is possible;

2. the residents affected by HGV traffic along the A368 and B3134 are kept informed of the progress and that dialogue also continues with the residents so that their needs are considered; and

3. HGV flows should be monitored over time.

APPENDIX

[1] By HGV we refer to vehicles weighing at least 7.5 tonnes.

[2] ‘Appropriate’ in this context means the route which strikes a reasonable balance between the costs to operators and use of the non-strategic network.