Have you ever wanted to trial speed calming improvements on your roads without committing to a permanent installation? Or perhaps you’ve already installed a permanent concrete or asphalt speed calmer but now it’s not working out and you’re needing to make adjustments?
In this video we’re going to look at how Napier City Council used a Modular Rubber Speed Table to trial speed calming improvements outside a kindergarten on a very busy road and we’ll look at how they were able to build and gain community support and then implement a successful trial period.
The purpose of this project was to slow down vehicle traffic on a busy road near a kindergarten where parents and children were crossing every day.
There were three main reasons why modular rubber raised tables were chosen:
- The ability for it to be quickly installed, which reduces temporary traffic management costs and reduces disruption to the road network during installation.
- It was easier for the council to get their community on board with the project with it being positioned as a trial rather than a permanent installation, and
- Being a bolt down product it gave Napier Council the ability to relocate or remove the table if it didn’t prove effective.
This proved valuable on this particular project because after the installation was put in place, the Council got some community feedback about the positioning of the table and they were able to uplift and relocate it to a more suitable position on the road.
The Council’s project manager said, “I personally found it much easier talking to businesses and residents about the crossings as a trial and promising to monitor the sites following installation and remove it if we needed to”.
So by using the modular rubber speed tables, their contractor was able to get this installation complete within five hours and reopen to traffic again – much less disruption and less temporary traffic management compared to traditional asphalt or concrete methods.
One year on from the installation, the Council have found that this installation is actually working well and it’s being effective at slowing down vehicle speeds outside the kindergarten, and the community are also on board with how it’s performing. Rather than deciding to spend more money on upgrading this to a concrete race table, the Council have decided to leave this in as it is, and we expect to see this last for at least another five years yet.
If you’re looking to trial speed calming improvements in your community, and you’re wondering whether modular rubber raised tables could be the right option for you or not, then get in touch with us and we’d love to have a chat about your project.
