The Ups & Downs of Village Traffic
FHA Health, Safety & Security
There are 80 streets and roads in Fearrington Village. Of those, 56 are state roads; the other 24 are owned and maintained by the (currently) six service groups, which are served by those streets.
The FHA does not own or maintain any village streets or roads; however, we do monitor traffic volume and speed currently on 4 state roads, which are prime village arterials: Weathersfield, Village Way, Millcroft, and (since October 2015) Creekwood. In 2016, we will again monitor traffic and speed on the portion of Beechmast that intersects Village Way at two locations.
Since May 2015, Camden Park, Inc. (one of the current service groups) also began monitoring traffic on East Camden (another village arterial) and West Camden, and now shares their traffic monitor reports with the FHA. We also work with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department to arrange for the occasional placement of their mobile trailer-mounted speed monitor at selective sites in the village.
Our Monitoring Equipment
Our two speed monitors, one very old and our newer model (pictured on the left), are periodically moved among those locations and continue to have positive value; however, we need to carefully develop a better strategic deployment pattern, especially by considering adding additional (new) locations, and a more effective system for sharing the traffic reports with residents.
A revised deployment pattern for monitors will also help to raise community consciousness that speed is a real concern. People can become so accustomed to monitors being only at the same locations that they just "blow" past them without even perceiving them. In this instance, familiarity truly breeds contempt.
The live camera in our newer monitor helps to identify whether speeding vehicles are personal vehicles, delivery vehicles or service vehicles, construction vehicles, school busses, etc. and documents the actual speed, date, and time with the photo.
Contrary to village lore, the data collected for several years clearly indicates that almost all the village traffic exceeding 45mph (with a villagewide speed limit of 25mph) are passenger vehicles, which are most likely driven by residents who are in a hurry to reach 15/501 or their own driveway after re-entering the village.
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| Who Yields to Whom at Stop Signs?Click This Graphic to Read the Full Size. |
The Value of This New Health, Safety & Security Blog
This new blog site should greatly increase our ability to share such traffic information with residents and to facilitate some sustained exchange of community perspectives and suggestions for improved road safety measures in the village.
NEW BLOG TRAFFIC REPORTING FEATURE NOW AVAILABLE
On May 4th, 2016, we posted a report showing traffic volumes and speed data for each of the village traffic monitor locations. Watch for future reports and join the discussion here on this blog.
