roads

Hedgehog road deaths in UK ‘as high as 335,000’

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Up to 335,000 hedgehogs are dying each year on UK roads, a study suggests.

The figure represents a three-fold mortality rate on 2016 data, described as “alarming” by a team at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) researchers.

A study in 2016 put the UK road death figure at 100,000 but experts suggested that was a “mid-line estimate”.

Researchers said measures such as tunnels and speed bumps “could” protect the animals but ultimately relied on drivers’ behaviour to change.

PhD student Lauren Moore led the review, which has been jointly funded by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and NTU.

Recent estimates put the hedgehog population in England, Wales and Scotland at about one million, compared with 30 million in the 1950s.

“Hedgehog roadkill is sadly a very familiar sight both in the UK and in Europe,” Ms Moore said.

The research considered a number of measures to protect the creatures, including speed bumps, road signs and tunnels, but concluded none would be effective without help from drivers.

“Although we know some hedgehogs use road-crossing structures, we don’t yet know how effective these solutions are,” Ms Moore continued.

“Changing drivers’ behaviour has been shown to be difficult to achieve and sustain, reducing the potential for meaningful reductions in roadkill.”

Rural roads ‘getting worse’, say drivers

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I’m not one to stir up rural/urban division but townies driving on some of the roads we have to use could literally fall into a well of controversy about funding fairness according to this article…

Half of drivers (49%) say the condition of local roads has deteriorated since last year, primarily as a result of potholes and other road-surface problems.

Only one in 10 (11%) believe the roads in their area have improved, with around four-in-10 (40%) saying there was no real change in the past 12 months, according to the 2019 RAC Report on Motoring.

There appears to be a clear town-versus-country divide in terms of road maintenance with drivers based in rural locations being almost 10% more likely to say their local road conditions have worsened in the past 12 months (rural 58% v UK average 49%).

Meanwhile, 25% of London-based motorists say conditions are in fact better this year, against the UK-wide average of 11%.

While potholes and related road-surface problems take most of the blame for worsening conditions, they are not drivers’ sole concerns.

There has been a sharp rise in dissatisfaction about grass and foliage maintenance on local roadsides, with 22% of drivers saying this is one reason conditions are worse.

Why are England’s roadsides blooming?

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f people with views that affect the countryside like your friend and mine Packham want something action orientated to get behind my suggestion is that this is a useful space to be in. This article tells us:

A long-running campaign encouraging councils to let neatly-mown grass verges become mini meadows where wildflowers and wildlife can flourish appears to be building up a head of steam.

Since 2013, Plantlife has been telling authorities the move could help them save money and boost their green credentials.

Several have taken the message on board. An eight-mile “river of flowers” alongside a major route in Rotherham was widely praised on social media recently and roadside meadows have also popped up in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Birmingham, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Rotherham Borough Council said its efforts had saved an estimated £23,000 a year in mowing costs.

A slightly more modest £150 was the estimated saving made by Nottinghamshire County Council during last year’s pilot.

The authority said this was because its mowing teams still needed to visit each of the six locations to trim back sections affecting motorist visibility.

The battle for the future of Stonehenge

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Who’d have an iconic structure in their planning back yard……

The current proposal, to widen and sink the road into a tunnel running for almost two miles, mostly about 600 metres south of the stones, was announced in 2014, although the basic idea goes right back to the 1990s. The main difficulty is the cost: the government has allocated £1.7bn, which is not enough for a passage sufficiently long to avoid the world heritage site. That means tunnel portals would be bored, and dual carriageways built, through an ancient landscape unique in the world. This protected area is home to traces of a mesolithic settlement long predating Stonehenge, the ancient “Avenue” linking the monument and the river Avon, and hundreds of bronze-age burial mounds, or barrows.

But the long planning process is entering its endgame. Later this year, a panel of inspectors will meet in Wiltshire and, over a period of six months, examine the evidence for and against the scheme. They will have three months to make their recommendation to the transport secretary, Chris Grayling. He will have a further three months to decide whether or not to accept it. Construction could start in 2021.

Prince Philip apologises to woman injured in car crash

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This sad story is only noteworthy in terms of Hinterland because it raises the broader issue of the challenge of many older rural dwellers driving on rural roads. It tells us….

A “very contrite” Duke of Edinburgh has personally apologised for his part in a car crash to a woman who was left with a broken wrist.

In a letter to Emma Fairweather, Prince Philip, 97, suggested glare from the winter sun may have been to blame for the incident as he pulled out from a side road on to the A149 near the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on 17 January.

His apology emerged following widespread criticism of him and Buckingham Palace over the handling of the incident. Fairweather called the duke “highly insensitive and inconsiderate” after he was photographed less than 48 hours later at the wheel of a replacement car without a seatbelt on. She joined calls for him to be prosecuted if found to be at fault over the collision.

In a typed letter to Fairweather, seen by the Sunday Mirror, Philip wrote: “I would like you to know how very sorry I am for my part in the accident at the Babingley crossroads. I have been across that crossing any number of times and I know very well the amount of traffic that uses that main road.

Reality Check: Is our pothole problem getting worse?

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The jury appears to be out in terms of whether our roads are deteriorating or not in terms of stats. In terms of my experience I feel 10 years of underinvestment in rural roads tells the truth under the tyres of my car! I’m sure you’ll have views….

A freedom-of-information request by the RAC to Highways England found there were 528 successful claims relating to vehicle damage caused by potholes in 2017/18. This was more than double the 212 recorded in 2016/17 and the 187 in 2015/16.

The government says the “Beast from the East” – the unusually cold spell early last year – was at least partly to blame for the spike.

When it comes to minor roads, though, English and Welsh councils are fixing fewer potholes. The AIA’s own annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey found the average number filled in by each local authority in England in 2012-13 was 16,041. By 2016/17 this fell to 13,468. In Wales, the number declined from 7,082 to 6,410.

Nicholas Thom, assistant professor of engineering at Nottingham University, says that just because fewer potholes are being fixed by councils, it doesn’t mean roads are improving.

“The situation’s definitely worse than it was a few years ago”, he says. “There’s no denying that fewer are being fixed, so it’s more than likely the backlog of repairs is increasing.”

The Insurance Emporium company put in a freedom of information request to councils in England, Scotland and Wales about the number of potholes recorded year-by-year. 

In 2015, the total figure was 946,125, rising to 1,088,965 in 2016 and falling back to 986,956 in 2017.

The number given for 2018 was 789,902, but this only went up to the end of April, when the inquiry was made. So the number for that year could well be higher than for previous years.

Cyclists and pedestrians should be priority on any new road, says UK’s health watchdog

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If you needed more evidence of the predominance of an urban mentality in yet another important organisation here it is. I’ve no beef with encouraging more people to exercise more however it seems a big leap to suggest the solution is a blanket approach to discriminating against the private motor car – particularly where as we know it’s a lifeline to many people in rural settings. This story tells us:

New road projects should prioritise cyclists, pedestrians and public transport over cars to encourage more physical activity across the UK, the health watchdog has said.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) is urging planners and developers to build “safe, convenient, inclusive” transport infrastructure, which will help people move away from cars to healthier modes of transport. 

In a set of new draft guidelines issued to councils and planners, Nice said the aim is “to get people to be more active in their day-to-day lives by encouraging safe, convenient, active travel that is accessible for everyone, including older people and people with limited mobility”.

The Department for Transport has said it supports Nice’s recommendations, and said its own guidance “is crystal clear that street design should explicitly consider pedestrians and cyclists first”.

In the UK physical inactivity is responsible for one in six deaths and is believed to cost the economy £7.4bn a year, including £900m to the NHS, roughly the same impact as smoking, Nice said.

England’s local roads to get boost from government cash pot

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Transport is a signal and siren theme in the world of the rural public sector – perhaps some good news here…..???

English councils will be given access to a multibillion-pound fund for local road improvements under plans unveiled by the transport secretary, Chris Grayling.

It was initially envisaged that the cash, held in the national roads fund, would be spent on the motorways and major A-roads managed by Highways England. But Grayling announced a change of tack, saying that some of it should be diverted to be spent on roads run by local authorities.

He placed a particular focus on a “bypass fund”, while some of the money will also be used to help councils enhance or replace the most important A-roads under their management, the Department for Transport said.

Under the strategy, which could be implemented in 2020, road improvement programmes are to be judged on how they contribute to creating a more geographically balanced economy, increase productivity or growth and tackle congestion.

Small firms demand more money for countryside roads

Business leaders have called for more cash to be spent on the UK’s rural road network to help boost economic growth.

A report published by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that half of all small firms believe this country’s road and public transport system has got worse over last few years.

The three biggest issues highlighted in the report by small companies operating in rural areas are congestion on local roads, potholes and the cost of fuel.

It also warns a lack of regional planning is hampering business growth, particularly in rural area and FSB has also called on the newly-formed combined authorities around the country to commit to spending more on rural transport infrastructure and give the matter a higher priority.

The FSB’s national chairman, Mike Cherry, said while the Government is investing in transport, the ‘lion’s share’ is being spent on ‘big flagship projects’.

‘Most small businesses mainly rely on their local roads and public transport, so there is a strong case to prioritise investment in these smaller projects which will help to alleviate congestion and bottlenecks,’ said Mr Cherry.

‘The current devolution agenda in England presents a real opportunity to make a positive difference to rural communities. Small businesses want to see more resources earmarked for rural transport.

‘This will help support rural small businesses as well as the UK tourism industry, which are both disproportionately affected when local bus networks and roads are left to deteriorate,’ he added.

£5,000 fines for firms and councils that leave ‘ghost’ roadworks

Utility companies and councils could face fines of up to £5,000 a day for leaving roadworks unmanned at weekends in an effort to reduce traffic jams.

The proposals, from the Department of Transport, are designed to reduce congestion on A-roads and quell frustrations felt by motorists held up for long periods by ‘ghost’ roadworks, where no work is taking place.

Daily fines of £5,000 are currently in place for road works that overrun, but penalties could also be issued to those who leave temporary traffic lights in place after work has finished, the government said.

The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: “I want to deliver better journeys for drivers. Roadworks can be essential but that doesn’t mean they should be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary.

Steve Gooding, director if the RAC Foundations, said: “Road users see red when they come across sets of temporary traffic lights that are stopping traffic but there are no workmen in sight or the work has actually finished.

In 2015 it was reported a third of all car journeys were delayed by roadworks.

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