Council thanks public for taking part in speed management consultation

Cheshire East Council would like to thank people for sharing their views on its updated draft speed management strategy.

The council put the draft document before the public during an eight-week consultation between 1 December and 31 January 2022. 

A strong response was received, with 704 completed questionnaires and 148 further emailed comments. We would like to thank all those who took the time to respond on this important matter.

The draft strategy aims to provide a safer road environment for everyone by setting out how speed will be managed on the borough’s roads. By providing clearer guidance on speed management, the strategy will ensure that the principles are consistently applied across the road network, with support from our partner agencies.

An important factor in shaping the strategy has been the adoption of Cheshire East’s local transport plan in 2019, which placed greater emphasis on considering the needs of vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists.

The strategy includes guidance on the way the council manages speed, while also considering changing attitudes towards means of travel, particularly since the pandemic, when people’s habits and priorities changed.

The strategy supports the council’s ‘active travel’ priority, which aims to encourage more walking and cycling to help deliver on the authority’s carbon neutral targets. 

An analysis of the sizable volume of feedback from the consultation is now under way and, once completed, the valuable insight provided will be considered in the finalisation of the council’s speed management strategy. 

The revised document will be brought back to Cheshire East Council’s highways and transport committee at the earliest possible opportunity, for further consideration. This is provisionally set for the late summer/autumn of 2022.