SAM Sign Reports
The sign is moved to one of the five locations in Eaton every month and the data shared with our local Councillors, County Hall and the Neighbourhood Policing Team.
The SAM sign records the speed and time of each vehicle approaching it. The sign can be turned to face the opposite direction which we now do periodically to get data from both directions on a road. Within Eaton Village there is only one way in via Church Lane so what passes the SAM sign in one direction will generally return the same way so vehicle counts can be doubled to get traffic flows on each road. For Judges Walk the SAM sign records vehicles travelling from Unthank Road to Newmarket Road only.
A summary of the headline data recorded at each location is included below and this will be updated following each move of the SAM sign. A more detailed report is provided to Councillors, County Hall and our Neighbourhood Policing Team.
Qn. What does the 85th percentile mean? A. The 85th Percentile is used extensively in decision making as it is indicative of the speed that the majority of road users are travelling at. Use of the 85th percentile speed concept is based on the theory that:
• the large majority of drivers:
- are reasonable and prudent
- do not want to have a crash
- desire to reach their destination in the shortest possible time
• a speed at or below which 85 percent of people drive at any given location under good weather and visibility conditions may be considered as the maximum safe speed for that location.
EVRA has also looked at the distribution of houses within Eaton Village in relation to the locations of the SAM sign. This was done to get a feel for how many households would typically be passing a particular location compared to the number of vehicles recorded. On school days, some 200 extra vehicles go to and from the school twice a day which would account for around 400 of the weekday vehicle count on Church Lane and Greenways. Here is the traffic flow map:
Would you like to help manage the Eaton SAM sign? We need further volunteers to join our team to help move the SAM Sign. This is moved every four weeks which involves dismounting it and then installing at one of five location around Eaton.
There are two parts to the sign: the battery which weighs around 10kg and the sign itself which is 11kg. The sign is mounted 2.3 metres above ground on brackets attached to lampposts . The brackets are periodically turned to collect data from the opposite direction.
Two people are needed to change the sign. One up a ladder to remove and hand down the components and the other to receive these. When mounting the sign the person on the ground has a clearer view of the mounting bracket and can help guide the sign into position.
The data is collected prior to a move and the sign is reset ready to record in its new location.
Generally the overall process takes around 30 minutes including travelling between locations.
Having a larger pool of volunteers will help share the load rather than being a regular commitment.
Please contact Chris Stebbing – EVRA Chair by email at: evra.vc@live.co.uk or call 01603 503301
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Report for Greenways facing East 5th March to 2nd April 2022
The Eaton SAM Sign was located on Greenways for four weeks facing East to record vehicles travelling from the direction of Eaton Primary School. Total number of vehicles during the period was 30421 which is an average of around 1100 per day with about 20% exceeding 25mph and a maximum speed of just over 50mph recorded on 13th March. Nine of the twelve vehicles exceeding 40mph did so during the day between 8am and 6pm. Overall average speed was 21.7mph.
Typically on school days, some 200 extra vehicles go to and from the school twice a day which would account for around 400 of the weekday vehicle count. There are around 450 houses beyond the point where the SAM sign was located which would use this section of Greenways as their primary route. A broad assumption is that there are around 250 additional vehicle movements a day on top of school and resident’s traffic!
Here are the summary reports for the period:
The SAM sign was located on Judges Walk during February.
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Report for Church Lane near Eaton Burial Ground 7 January to 4th February 2022
The Eaton SAM sign was located on Church Lane near the Eaton Burial Ground recording vehicles coming from the direction of the Greenways junction. The number of vehicles recorded was 22648 heading towards Marston Lane which is an average of 780 vehicles per day serving the 260 households and the Eaton Vale Activity Centre located beyond this point. Overall average speed was 22.6mph with 85% of vehicles averaging 28.4mph and the maximum speed recorded was 55mph at 21:05 on 24th January. The average speeds on this section of Church Lane are higher than recorded elsewhere around Eaton Village with nearly 70% of drivers exceeding the 20mph speed limit compared to around 60% exceeding the limit at other locations.
Here are the summary reports for the period:
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Report for Sunningdale 4th December 2021 to 7 January 2022
The Eaton SAM sign was located on Sunningdale for a second time throughout December until 7th January and the summary reports on vehicle speeds and numbers are included below. Total number of vehicles recorded was 15440 which is an average of 454 per day. Based on the EVRA Newsletter distribution routes the number of houses accessed through that section of Sunningdale is 112 so many of the vehicles are visitors to the Golf Club and delivery vehicles.
Maximum speed recorded was 45mph but overall average speed was just under 25mph. Around 12% of vehicles exceeded 25mph with a fairly consistent number of violators each day. Comparison with the August report shows that average speed was more or less the same, although around a hundred fewer vehicles were recorded each day.
Here are the summary reports for the period:
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Report for Church Lane 30th October to 4th December 2021
The Speed Awareness Monitor (SAM) was located on Church Lane from 30th October to 4th December and just over 87,000 vehicles were recorded during the five weeks – an average of 2487 per day. The sign was located just before the Church Hall recording all vehicles heading north towards the traffic lights at Eaton Street junction. Overall average speeds were around 21mph which reflects the slow moving traffic during school run times when vehicles are usually queued back to Greenways. Around 60% of vehicles exceed 20mph with 17% travelling at more than 25mph and 3% exceeding 30mph. Several vehicles drive at more than 40mph with one vehicle recorded exceeding 65mph on Thursday 22nd November at 22:15 hours.
The summary tables and graphs provide a view of the data recorded. EVRA share this data with our Councillors and with County Hall and are working with them to see how this can be used to improve the safety of our roads for all users. We are aware that residents have difficulty crossing Church Lane to get to and from the shops and speeding traffic along this section of road does not help. The 87,000 vehicles recorded would also travel in the opposite direction given that this is the only route in and out of Eaton Village. That’s 174,000 vehicle movements over the five week period on Church Lane.
The data recorded has been summarised in the tables and graphs below. Times are BST so are one hour ahead. As we gain experience with using the monitor we get a better understanding of the features of this.
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Report for Judges Walk October 2021
The speed monitor was located on Judges Walk during October and 16,260 vehicles were recorded travelling from Unthank Road to Newmarket Road – an average of 600 vehicles each day. The Maximum speed recorded was 45mph with more than two thirds of vehicles exceeding the 20mph speed limit each day. Typically, 10 vehicles drive in excess of 35mph each weekday. Peak volumes were recorded as between 8.00 to 9.00 (70 vehicles) and 16.00 to 17.00 (60 vehicles) on weekdays. Judges Walk is only 310 metres (1000 ft) long between Unthank Road and Newmarket Road.
The first table provides a summary of the data collected during the month and the chart shows overall average weekday speeds compared to the average speed of the 85% of drivers.
The speed monitor has now been located on Church Lane near to the Church Hall.
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Final Report for Greenways for September 2021:
The data collected during the period 4th September to 3rd October recorded just under 37,000 vehicles heading up Greenways over the five weeks with a peak of 190 vehicles per hour during school run times. The reports highlight that on a typical weekday around 1100 vehicles travel within 25mph, 230 vehicles at 25 to 30 mph with 50 vehicles in excess of 30mph with around ten of these driving at between 35 and 45 mph. One vehicle was recorded at 50mph! The 20mph Zones were implemented across the City by Norwich City Council as a road safety measure so it is disappointing that some drivers think it is ok to drive at excessive speeds around our residential streets.
The charts below show overall average weekday speeds compared to the average speed of the 85% of drivers and do show a small decrease in both categories for the w/c 27 September which was the last week of recording so the SAM sign may have had some effect! The second table provides a summary of the data collected over the five weeks.
The sign has now been moved to Judges Walk.
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Interim Report for Greenways September 2021:
The SAM sign was moved to Greenways (between the two legs of Parsons Mead) at the beginning of September 2021 and summary charts covering the first two weeks show no discernible difference in driver behaviour between the weeks! Two thirds of all vehicles on Greenways are exceeding the 20 mph speed limit with one vehicle recorded at 50mph! The detailed stats show an average of 250 vehicles a day exceeding 25 mph, 40 a day exceeding 30mph, 8 exceeding 35mph and at least 1 a day exceeding 40/45 mph in the 20mph Zone. Around 200 vehicles head up Greenways during each of the school run times (8 to 9 AM and 2 to 4 PM) and the average speed is a little lower than at other quieter times of day.
In total an average of 1400 vehicles a day head up Greenways Mon to Fri and around 1100 on Saturday and 850 on a Sunday. Just under 18,000 vehicles were recorded over the two week period and given that Greenways is a “no through road” a similar number will have driven in the opposite direction – that’s 36,000 over two weeks!
Here are screen shots of the summary charts for the first two weeks:
Eaton Speed Awareness Monitor – Reports from Sunningdale August 2021: The Speed Awareness Monitor funded by our County Councillor, Brian Watkins, from his community allowance was delivered and installed on Sunningdale on 6th August. The monitor was installed to face the vehicles travelling from Newmarket Road towards the Golf Club end of the road. The sign records the time and speed of every vehicle and just over 15500 vehicles were recorded during the five week monitoring period. The reports provide a lot of information which we are sharing with local councillors and authorities.
The data recorded during the five week period on Sunningdale shows that the overall average speed of vehicles was just above 20mph. However, the average speed of 85th percentile of vehicles was around 25mph in the 20 mph Zone with around 20 vehicles a day recorded exceeding 30mph and a small number driving between 35 and 40 mph in the 20 mph Zone. These higher speeds were typically recorded between 6 and 7 in the morning and again in the early evening.
Here is a chart comparing the average speeds over each of the five weeks during the monitoring period: SAM report for Sunningdale Aug & Sept 2021
The sign has since been moved to Greenways ready for the start of the new school year. As well reminding drivers of the speed limits and recording the speed of vehicles, the sign also records the number of vehicles travelling in a particular direction which is useful information to have in respect of traffic flows on our busy roads.
We have a small team of volunteers to help manage the sign to replace the battery between moves and relocate the sign each month. It takes around an hour to remove and relocate the sign to a new area. Please get in touch if you are interested in joining our team and assisting with moves and changes. Contact Chris Stebbing at: evra.vc@live.co.uk or phone 503301.
Eaton Village 20mph Zone: Residents will be aware that too many drivers ignore the 20mph Zone in Eaton which was implemented by the City Council to improve road safety. Residents resisted proposals for speed bumps and other physical controls on our straighter roads and the City Council agreed to this in the hope that drivers would act responsibly. EVRA has asked for Speed Awareness Monitors to be located around the Village but City Hall would only locate these on through roads.
County Councillor for Eaton Division, Brian Watkins, has supported our campaign and is using part of his local fund allowance to purchase a Speed Awareness Monitor (SAM) for Eaton. The SAM sign will advise drivers of their speed and alert them to when they are exceeding the speed limit. The sign can also collect data about speeds of vehicles. The sign will be moved between several locations around the Eaton Village and also other roads within the Eaton Ward.
EVRA will be the responsible body for the sign and offered to maintain and move this between locations. The sign would be moved every four to six weeks and we wish to recruit a small team of volunteers to help with this. The sign weighs around 11kg and the battery pack 10kg and will be mounted on brackets already attached to nominated lampposts in the area. The role of the volunteers will be to move the sign between locations, mount the sign on the brackets, insert the battery and activate the sign. Batteries will require replacement around every two weeks depending on frequency of activation.
I and another volunteer will shortly be trained to install and manage the sign and we in turn will instruct any new volunteers. We envisage that we will require three people to manage the sign on each occasion; one to steady the stepladder, one to mount the ladder to install the sign, and the third to pass equipment to the installer.
The sign will be located on Sunningdale, Church Lane and Greenways within the EVRA area. It will also occasionally be located in other areas within Eaton but volunteers from those areas will be recruited separately.
If you are able to help with the management of the sign then please get in touch.
Chris Stebbing – EVRA Chair
Email: evra.vc@live.co.uk
Tel: 503301
