Speeds humps dumped

From the archive, first published Wednesday 21st Dec 2005.

Road humps are to be ripped up across Oxfordshire to make journeys less bumpy for passengers on low-level buses.

County council engineers will remove 20 road humps in Kennington High Street, south of Oxford, in a £65,000, 40-day project to install speed cushions in the new year.

The work, scheduled to begin on January 9, is part of a £200,000 project to improve roads for low floor buses, which enable passengers with mobility difficulties to get on and off the bus more easily.

But the installation of speed cushions has been labelled "Neanderthal traffic calming" by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), which has claimed the idea is more dangerous for motor- ists.

Traditional road humps -- or sleeping policemen -- have been blamed for causing serious damage to buses. Speed cushions are designed to leave a gap in the middle of the road, which enables buses to straddle the hump, reducing damage to the underside of the vehicle.

Oxfordshire County Council engineer and speed cushion project manager, Art Rapp, said: "Replacing old speed bumps with cushions will hopefully facilitate buses getting through -- and reduce the wear and tear on vehicles.

"At the same time cushions will be wide enough to control the speed of cars through the street.

"The idea behind the scheme is to try and make bus travel more attractive and reduce car journeys."

Oxford Bus Company has 80 low floor buses and Kennington is served every 15 minutes on the Oxford-Abingdon route.

In January work also starts on a scheme to remove 35 humps from roads in Bretch Hill, Banbury, at a cost of £130,000, while last week work finished on installing a £5,800 chicane in the Bankside area of the town. Mark McArthur-Christie, Oxfordshire IAM chairman, said: "This is Neanderthal traffic calming straight out of the Dark Ages -- it's like repairing a Rolex with a hammer and is bad for residents, bad for drivers and especially bad for elderly women with osteoporosis.

"The answer is to take out all the humps and signs to blur the distinction between the road and pavement -- and everyone will slow down.

"In Holland there has been a 30 per cent reduction in accidents."

Oxford Bus Company commercial director Nigel Eggleton said: "This is for our passengers' benefit -- there is a great deal of discomfort while buses travel over road humps."

If the project is successful speed cushions could be introduced in areas notorious for grounding out buses, including the Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford, Elms Rise in Botley, and across Abingdon.

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