Methodology
The Council has taken a pragmatic approach to the review, in line with the guidance and proposed to keep the previous nine designations currently in use. This includes where designations were in place for seasonal tourism purposes only. Traffic data has been assessed to show these streets meet criteria (generally A or B above), but it is generally accepted that some streets have seasonal peaks. Therefore, the Council proposes to keep the seasonal designation for these, avoiding a more stringent designation being placed.
The designations proposed are as follows:
| Designation | Reason if critera to designate is met |
|---|---|
| Designation: 7am to 9am, 3.30pm to 6pm Monday to Friday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Commuter - Traffic flow is known to increase significantly during morning and evening peak |
| Designation: 7am to 6pm Monday to Saturday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to be high throughout the working week and on a Saturday |
| Designation: 7am to 6pm Monday to Sunday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to be high seven days a week |
| Designation: 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm Saturday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to be high throughout the working week and on a Saturday for a reduced period |
| Designation: 5am to 6pm Market Days | Reason if critera to designate is met: A known market operates in the vicinity |
| Designation: 7am to 8pm Friday to Monday (Easter to October) and all school holidays (Easter to October) | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to increase during tourism periods and during school holidays within this period. The coverage of Friday to Monday from Easter to October accounts for the known change over days for holiday parks on the Lincolnshire coast |
| Designation: 7am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Saturday to Sunday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to be high throughout the working week and on a Saturday or Sunday for a reduced period |
| Designation: 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Traffic flow is known to be high throughout the working week and reduces out of hours and during a weekend |
| Designation: 7am to 10pm Monday to Sunday | Reason if critera to designate is met: Applied on very few USRNs where known flow is constant during these hours - for example the A46, Lincoln Bypass |
The Council holds its traffic sensitive street data within the National Street Gazetteer. A list of Unique Street Reference Numbers (USRNs) which held a designation of traffic sensitive, within the current designations, was produced. This was manually reviewed, drawing on local knowledge and known issues within the current designations.
Once the above baseline was completed, a sense check analysis was undertaken against the criteria within the guidance. USRNs for the sense check were reviewed and used in comparison with other USRNs which are known to carry similar traffic flow by local knowledge. The sense check manually reviewed several data sources which included traffic count data and complementary data.
These sources were:
| Data source | Survey period | Attributes |
|---|---|---|
| Data source: Department for Transport (DfT) count data | Survey period: Single day counts | Attributes: 369 sites in Lincolnshire Major and minor roads Disaggregated by vehicle type AADT and hourly flow |
| Data source: Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership data | Survey period: Twelve-hour counts, Permanent ATC sites, Temporary Automated Traffic Counts | Attributes: 21 sites Major and some minor roads AADT flow 12 hour daily count |
| Data source: Lincolnshire County Council - previous study data | Survey period: Twelve-hour counts, Permanent ATC sites, Temporary Automated Traffic Counts | Attributes: 30 sites Major and some minor roads AADT flow 12 hour daily count |
| Data source: Winter maintenance routes | Survey period: Not applicable | Attributes: Mapped to USRN |
| Data source: Local bus routes | Survey period: Not applicable | Attributes: Provided by Lincolnshire County Council Transport Services |
All traffic counts used in the review were undertaken within the last five years.
Where multiple count data was held, a selective approach was used to determine which count should be recorded and used based on numerous factors including:
- age of the data with preference for most recent where applicable
- month of survey with preference for more neutral months
- consistency checks with nearby counts on the same USRN, where available, as verification on which is more reliable if differences were established
The Department for Transport (DfT) count database is a collection of traffic counts undertaken on behalf of the DfT for single days on an annual basis at various locations on the major (motorways and A roads) and minor road network which is also available online. The data can be viewed on the Department for Transport road traffic statistics website, and 369 sites were available for Lincolnshire in aggregated and disaggregated format. This data was manually analysed against the criteria.
Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) collects traffic data from both manual counts and automated traffic counts (ATCs). This data was manually analysed against the criteria.
The Council identified its own record of counts which had been used for previous and ongoing studies within Lincolnshire. Data was collected in various methods, by various sources on behalf of the Council including Lincs Laboratory and the Council's professional services partner WSP. The data included:
- Lincs Lab – The Council in house survey team
- Greater Lincolnshire Traffic Model
- Lincoln Eastern Bypass (LEB)
- Boston Traffic Data Collection Report
- Gainsborough Transport and Development Study
- Spalding Traffic Survey
The counts associated with these studies had been undertaken in various months throughout the previous five years. Lincs Lab also maintained and collected data from a set of permanent ATC counters located on strategic links around the county. This data was manually analysed against the criteria.
Where raw count data was available, this was analysed manually. Annual Average Daily Flow (AADT) data was factored into an hourly rate.
Sense check analysis of the Council's traffic data has provided quantitative evidence to support criteria A, B, and D. Criteria C does not apply to any USRNs within the Lincolnshire County Council's area.
Service data for bus routes services operating within Lincolnshire have been obtained from the Council's public transport information portal and the local operator webpages. This looked to identify the service frequency of bus services. This provided evidence to support criteria E.
Identification of evidence to support criteria G and H has been undertaken manually using local knowledge of the Council's network.
Where USRNs were proposed as part of the initial considerations but did not meet the criteria when data was reviewed, these were removed from the final proposal.