Pole Lane is a long, steep, and mostly straight road which cuts through the town of Darwen near Blackburn. A report found that a majority of the more than 4,000 motorists who used the lane each day were driving above the 30mph speed limit. The average recorded speed was 39mph, with some reaching speeds of more than 70mph.
The challenge: long straight road with excessive speeding putting residents at risk
The Challenge
The Challenge
!Pole Lane is a long, steep, and mostly straight road cutting through the town of Darwen near Blackburn
!A majority of the more than 4,000 daily motorists were driving above the 30mph speed limit
!The average recorded speed was 39mph, with some reaching speeds of more than 70mph
Objectives
Project Objectives
Improve the safety of Pole Lane and adjoining roads through the installation of traffic calming chicanes
Ensure cyclists are able to ride on Pole Lane without being obstructed by the chicanes
Avoid disruption by installing products which do not require the road to be closed
Install surface-mounted products which are low maintenance, impact resistant, and can be quickly relocated for road maintenance
Our Solution
The Solution
Install two sets of traffic islands with extension pieces to create a substantial traffic calming chicane
Position the islands to create a chicane narrow enough for just a single vehicle to pass through
Position the chicanes far enough from the pavement that cyclists are able to continue unimpeded
The traffic islands are surface mounted making them quick to install, providing a solid and impact-resistant solution
Each traffic island chicane was installed in less than an hour without the need to close the road
Traffic island chicane installed on Pole Lane
Results & Impact
Results
26%Speed Reduction
31mphNew Average Speed
<1hrInstall Per Chicane
Post-installation surveys showed that the chicanes had successfully lowered the speed of motorists travelling on Pole Lane
The average speed dropped to 31mph — a reduction of 26%
As a result, the average speed on neighbouring Sough Road and Marsh House Lane was also reduced, with drivers staying at 29–32mph
Completed traffic calming chicane on Pole Lane
Considering a Similar Approach?
This case study demonstrates effective chicane-led traffic calming on a road with persistent speeding.
