Claxton Village, Norfolk

The SAM2 monitor transferred to Langley-with-Hardley this morning.  It comes back to Claxton on 1 September.

The location in May was the 30MPH repeater post on The Warren, facing towards the Manor and Rockland St Mary.  We have downloaded the statistics for the month and these are shown below.

The first thing to note is the overall number of vehicles going south through the village during a month when lockdown was partially eased.  The total was double that for April and roughly two-thirds of a “normal” month.

The findings themselves are slightly disappointing, with 620 vehicles passing this point at a speed of 36 MPH or above.  2 in every 11 of the total was also in the “just above” bracket of 31-35 MPH, with 3 out of every 4 vehicles abiding by the 30MPH speed limit, as in April.

Our regular Parish Council meetings will have this issue on the agenda for our next virtual meeting in July.  Please check this site for any news if you wish to feed in to this or any other item.

We have use of the SAM2 monitor for another month before it transfers to Langley-with-Hardley on 1 June, with it then returning to Claxton on 1 September.

The location in April was the 30MPH repeater post just south of the Village Hall, facing towards the Manor and Rockland St Mary.  We have downloaded the statistics for the month and these are shown below.

The first thing to note is the overall number of vehicles going north through the village during the first full month of Coronavirus lockdown.  The average monthly total since we began using the SAM2 is just over 17,500.  In April this shrunk by almost two-thirds.  I don’t suppose I’ll be the only one to hope that this might become a long-term trend.

The findings themselves are relatively encouraging, with ‘just’ 267 vehicles passing this point at a speed of 36 MPH or above.  Almost 1 in 6 of the total was also in the “just above” bracket of 31-35 MPH, with 3 out of every 4 vehicles abiding by the 30MPH speed limit.

Our regular Parish Council meetings will have this issue on the agenda, assuming our plans to hold virtual meetings over Zoom actually work.  Please check this site for any news if you wish to feed in to this or any other item.

During the course of January the Parish Council reached agreement with its counterparts in Langley with Hardley (LwH) that we would keep the SAM2 speed monitor in Claxton until the end of May, at which point it will transfer to LwH for a 3-month deployment.  The main reason we are getting an extended benefit is that the LwH Councillors have not yet been trained in its use.  This will not happen soon enough for them to deploy for even part of the agreed period (December to February) so instead of the SAM2 bouncing between the two villages, we shall have it for longer than expected.

One benefit is that we are able to take readings from each of the 6 agreed locations.  At the end of February we are free to relocate it to one of the earlier posts, the exact position to be agreed nearer the time.

In the meantime we have downloaded the statistics for January and these are set out in the table below.

Rather disappointingly the percentage of vehicles travelling above the legal limit of 30MPH has increased from just over 6% in December (631 vehicles) to over 37% in January (over 5,000 vehicles), even if 29.5% of those were in the “just above” bracket of 31-35MPH.  And the 26 vehicles in December which went through above 36MPH has now increased to a whopping 1,149, or 37 a day.

It is still the intention of the Parish Council to meet with LwH PC to discuss findings but clearly this cannot happen until they have some data to consider.  So the earliest this will happen is after LwH’s first deployment on 31 August.

Our regular Parish Council meetings will usually have this issue on the agenda.  If you have views and want to make them known, why not come along to a meeting?  The next one is on Wednesday 18 March at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that the SAM2 Speed Monitor is still being deployed in Claxton, despite the fact that it should have transferred to Langley with Hardley (LwH, the co-owner) on 1 December.  We are still awaiting contact from them about transferring the device but can assure you that – either way – it will come back to Claxton on 1 March 2020.  It was moved to a new location today, but we anticipate losing it for a month or more once LwH are ready to receive it.

In the meantime we set out the raw data for December.  First the good news.  Nearly 94% of vehicles coming through the village from the direction of Carleton St Peter are driving within the speed limit.  And 6% of the rest are just above the speed limit (it is not possible to be more precise about exactly how fast these vehicles are going).  OK, they are breaking the law, but not as much as the 26 vehicles passing at between 36 and 50mph.

It is still the intention of the Parish Council to meet with LwH PC to discuss findings but clearly this cannot happen until they have some data to consider.  So that is more likely to happen in the summer.  Where appropriate there will be an item on Claxton Parish Council agendas to cover this issue.  Come along to a meeting if you have a view.  The next one is on Wednesday 15 January at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.