In summer 1999, traffic calming schemes were implemented in the villages of Stiffkey, Blakeney and Wiveton on the A149 corridor within the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and in the village of Occold, near Eye in Suffolk. The schemes were installed under the Countryside Traffic Measures Groups, a joint initiative of the Countryside Agency and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The initiative aimed to support the planning and implementation by local authorities of innovative rural traffic schemes designed to integrate sensitively into the local environment. The aim of the schemes, which comprised gateway features and measures within the villages, was to achieve lower speeds in a rural village environment whilst avoiding the use of visually intrusive measures often found elsewhere. In the Norfolk villages, sandy coloured surface dressing of a colour matching local building materials was laid at the gateways and in the centre of Stiffkey, and more visually attractive signing was installed with other signing removed and rationalised. A 20 miles/h speed limit was introduced in Stiffkey and a fibre-optic speed limit reminder sign was installed in Blakeney inside one gateway on the A149. In Occold, a 20 miles/h zone was implemented, but avoiding the use of road humps and chicanes normally associated with more urban schemes of this type. The report describes the schemes in detail and presents the results of monitoring undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the schemes in terms of vehicle speeds, air quality and quality public opinion surveys. (Author/publisher)
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