Stephenson Avenue Road Safety Scheme

Thank you to those who responded to this public consultation regarding the proposed Promotion of Community Health and Safety Scheme on the Stephenson Avenue.

The scheme was developed following residents’ concerns about traffic speeds and road safety, alongside records of collisions involving personal injury. 

Road safety and collision concerns

There were four recorded injury collisions on Stephenson Avenue during the assessment period: two serious and two slight.

The proposed scheme has been developed taking account of the collision history, vehicle speeds and the wider road environment. The collision pattern was not considered to justify a formal pedestrian crossing at a particular location, although informal pedestrian crossing points are included in the proposals.

Speeding and traffic calming

Responses highlighted excessive vehicle speeds and questioned the number and spacing of the proposed speed humps and cushions.

The measures are intended to achieve a consistent reduction in speeds along the route, rather than allowing vehicles to accelerate between isolated features. Department for Transport guidance identifies a maximum spacing of 150 metres between road humps, while spacing of approximately 60–70 metres is described as preferable for effective speed management.

Requests for chicanes instead of speed humps

Some respondents suggested chicanes as an alternative to speed humps. 

Chicanes would reduce available on-street parking, require additional parking restrictions and may result in the potential displacement of parking into surrounding streets. The council's experience is that vertical traffic calming, such as humps and cushions, is generally more effective at reducing speeds than horizontal measures such as chicanes and road narrowing. 

Road width and central hatching

Questions were raised about the effect of the proposals on the available carriageway width. With the proposed 1.5-metre central hatching, running lanes would be approximately 4 metres wide, and wider where the existing carriageway permits. 

The hatching is intended to create a visual narrowing effect to encourage lower speeds, but vehicles would still be able to overrun it where necessary, including when passing parked vehicles.

Requests for speed cameras

Responsibility for enforcing speed limits and operating speed-camera enforcement rests with West Midlands Police. New locations have to meet criteria relating to historical personal-injury collisions and 85th-percentile speed data. Stephenson Avenue does not meet this criteria.

Parking and dropped kerbs

There was a request for extensive dropped kerbing between Fleming Road and Kelvin Road to enable off-road parking.

The council considers this to be outside the scope of the road-safety scheme, which is specifically intended to address vehicle speeds and improve safety. Substantial alterations to the kerb line for private vehicle access therefore cannot be accommodated as part of these proposals.

Anti-social behaviour, motorcycles and e-scooters

The scheme is principally intended to reduce vehicle speeds and improve road safety, while dangerous or illegal riding and wider anti-social behaviour are enforcement matters for the police.

Next steps

Taking into account this feedback and other information the proposed road safety scheme for Stephenson Avenue will go ahead as detailed in the proposed plans. Properties along the route will be notified of when the works are due to take place. It is anticipated that works will be completed by the spring 2027.

The scheme will be closely monitored and reviewed once it has been in operation for an appropriate period. We will assess both its effectiveness and any impacts arising from its implementation. Should the monitoring identify a need for further improvements, we will consider additional measures and make recommendations where appropriate.