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The Knighton scheme

The Knighton scheme

South Knighton

Northfield Road, Eastcourt Road and Ashclose Avenue

Northfold Road and Eastcourt Road

During conversations with residents who were opposed to the proposed one-way on Northfold Road, the local ward councillor discussed the idea of an experimental ‘school street’ for the entire length of Northfold Road and Eastcourt Road.

For the length of the ‘School Street’ the road has been narrowed using planters on Northfold Road just south of its junction with Overdale Road and on Eastcourt Road just east of its junction with Kingsmead Road.

At school run times (8-9am and 2.30-4pm) parents will be re-directed to Park and Stride locations to the north and south of the school. Residents will be issued free permits to access the closure.

For the first couple of weeks, from 8-9am and 2.30-4pm the road will be physically closed with cones and marshals will only allow drivers with permits through.

After the first couple of weeks the road will not be physically closed. However, drivers in the area without a permit could be ticketed.

Details on how to apply for the free permits will be sent to eligible residents in a letter before the scheme is implemented. The application process will be online and you will need to provide proof of residency and proof of vehicle ownership. A more detailed letter on how to apply and how to use your permit will be delivered to the eligible residents in January.

The schools will be sending out communications and incentives for the Park and Strides and the experimental closure to parents and carers of children at the schools, in the new year.

Example of how the new planter and signage on Northfold Road at the junction with Overdale Road might look.

Example of how the new planter and signage on Eastcourt Road at the junction with Kingsmead Road might look.

Original proposals, outlined in a leaflet to residents in September

Leicester City Council has been given some funding to help tackle this. After talking to the police and other stakeholders we proposed the following:

• An experimental one-way street on Ashclose Avenue. The one-ways would be in place for 24 hours and seven days a week.
• An experimental ‘school street’ on the eastern end of Eastcourt Road (ie closest to the school entrance). This means that the street would be closed using barriers between 8am and 9am and 2.30 and 4pm. Residents living within the closure would be given a free permit to access their property.

These proposals are experimental, meaning that they would operate as a trial. Residents can make objections, which can be changed if they were not working.

What residents told us about the original proposals

Throughout the end of September, October and November, Leicester City Council officers and ward members discussed the proposals with local residents.

Residents largely supported the school street on the eastern end of Eastcourt Road.

There was overall agreement for the experimental one-way on Ashclose Avenue. Some concern was expressed that the one-way would make it harder to cross Meadvale Road from Carisbrooke Road by car. However, it did receive support for the fact that it would take traffic away from Meadvale Road giving better opportunities for pedestrians to cross.

The majority of residents on Northfold Road and Eastcourt Road we spoke to were opposed to the one-way on Northfold Road. They did not want to drive further for some trips. They did not think it would resolve the parking issues. There was concern it was a 24 hours a day, seven days a week solution for a problem that occurred at school run times only. There is not a precedent for making a residential street one-way at different times of the day as it is deemed to be confusing to drivers and potentially unsafe.

New proposals

Residents’ support is important to helping deliver a successful scheme. We have considered the concerns that people had on the previous proposals and have drawn up a new scheme based on the feedback from residents. The new scheme will be introduced on an experimental basis which means that it can be changed if it is not working.

Ashclose Avenue

Some concerns were expressed over the direction of the one-way. It has been agreed that we will retain the original direction of the one way on an experimental basis and monitor the junction of Carisbrooke Road and Meadvale Road. Changes can be made as required due to the experimental nature of the intervention.

If you have any queries, please email saferhealthierstreets@leicester.gov.uk

North Knighton

(Knighton Road, Knighton Drive, Northcote Road, Houlditch Road, Craighill Road, Milford Road)

Craighill Road, Northcote Road and Houlditch Road traffic

In September Leicester City Council posted a leaflet outlining proposals to experimentally close Craighill Road just south of the junction with Northcote Road and Houlditch Road. Council officers also spoke to residents at roadshows in the same month.

The scheme was proposed as a result of residents contacting the council with concerns about the speeds of traffic on Craighill Road and conflicts at the junction.

During the engagement the following questions were asked by residents:

Question: Can the problem be solved with traffic calming instead of a road closure?
Answer: The funding for this scheme is allocated from central government and cannot be spent on traffic calming. The impact of the road closure on the speed of traffic will continue to be monitored. The scheme is experimental and can easily be removed if /when money becomes available for traffic calming.

Question: There is an issue of speeding on the Northcote Road and Houlditch Road approach to the junction, can something be done about that?
Answer: As long as we are still including an experimental road closure in the scheme we can experiment with traffic barriers to narrow the road to slow traffic down. Priority ‘Give Ways’ will be created on Northcote Road on its approach to Craighill Road junction and also the junction with Knighton Drive (See the two plans below).

Question: Traffic already turns out of Milford Road onto Craighill Road too quickly. We are concerned the road closure may increase this.
Answer: We can experiment with traffic barriers to create a central island to slow the turning movement. (See plan below)

Whilst many residents expressed concerns that the road closure would be inconvenient, in order to make the junction of Craighill Road and Northcote Road safer, Leicester City Council would like to proceed with the road closure on an experimental basis and asks that residents give the proposal a trial of a couple of months. The scheme started on Monday 28th February. If after that time, the closure is not making the junction safer, or it is having unexpected adverse effects in other locations, the closure will be removed. Temporary features to slow the traffic on Northcote Road and Milford Road will be included in the scheme as shown in the plan above.

Knighton Drive traffic and safe routes to school

Whilst most residents were in favour of the scheme, the following questions were asked:

Question: Can the closure be at the London Road end of Knighton Drive?
Answer: The scheme will be experimental, and we would like to trial the closure at the Knighton Road end as this gives children walking to St Thomas More School a much safer crossing over the Knighton Drive junction.

Question: Can the closure be at the London Road end of Knighton Drive as well as the Knighton Road end?
Answer: This would have greater impact on the surrounding road network. We would like to understand how effective one closure is before we implement another.

Question: Can we have traffic calming instead of (or as well as) the road closure?
Answer: The funding for this scheme is allocated from central government and cannot be spent on traffic calming. The request for traffic calming is in place. The impact of the road closure on the speed of traffic will continue to be monitored. Traffic calming alone will not deliver the safe crossing to St Thomas More School.

Considering that most residents were in favour of the scheme proposed, we plan to implement the proposal experimentally and the plan below shows how the closure will be laid out.

Whilst we aim to make the closure as attractive as possible, please bear in mind the temporary nature of the proposal. If the scheme is successful further funding will be sought to make the closure permanent.

Description of plan above: the mouth of the junction will be closed with temporary barriers. A turning head is created on Knighton Drive and covered with double yellow lines. The pedestrian space is protected with planters. A route for cyclists to access Knighton Drive from Knighton Road is marked.