First Traffic Regulation Order published to make county Safer, Greener, Healthier

Traffic Regulation Order is first step following recent Active Travel Consultation.

The first of a number of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) has been published as part of the Active Travel Fund 2 scheme proposals.

The proposal being formally consulted upon is in Osborne Street, Colchester, to retain the loading bay in the street. The existing loading restriction was introduced in July 2020 as a temporary waiting restriction and will expire in January 2022.

It is now proposed to make this feature permanent to provide allocated parking for goods delivery services, to prevent parking on the footways or other undesignated areas.

This follows the public consultations which took place earlier this year as part of ECC’s ambition for Essex to become safer, greener and healthier by making it easier and safer for residents to walk or cycle.

A TRO is a legal order and enables the county council, as the highway authority, to manage traffic in the county.

Examples of TROs include parking restrictions, speed limits, one-way streets, weight restrictions, no right/left turns and loading bays. ECC is legally obliged to consult with certain stakeholders including the emergency services, business groups, bus operators and other action groups who have 21 days to respond.

Public consultations on ECC’s Active Travel Plans recently took place in Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester and Wickford.

The findings revealed that over 90 per cent of Essex residents were concerned about traffic congestion, air pollution and road safety. Action to tackle speeding was the highest priority followed by a desire for less traffic overall and for children to be able to play, walk and cycle in their neighbourhood.

All the active travel fund schemes will start to be implemented following the TRO process with works scheduled to commence spring 2022 onwards

The Osborne Street TRO has been published in the Colchester Gazette and is also available online.