Traffic Speeds

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Bournemouth Borough Council Online

Transport - Traffic Speeds
Traffic Speeds

An annual transport survey conducted by DETR, aims to monitor average traffic speeds at varying times of the day, both peak and off-peak for England's 18 largest urban areas, excluding London.

The table below shows the average traffic speeds by area, 2002

	Peak		Off-Peak
Area	All Roads	Excl. m/ways	All Roads	Excl. m/ways
Bournemouth/Poole	21.0		25.1
Brighton/Hove	26.6		26.1
Southampton	16.7	16.0	19.9	19.8
Blackpool	18.5		18.5
Portsmouth	26.7	18.8	29.7	21.8

Source: Transport Statistics Bulletin(DETR); 'Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas:2002'

The average traffic speed across the entire surveyed urban road network in 2002 was 21.4 mph during peak periods and 25.7 mph during the off-peak periods. As the table above shows, Bournemouth/Poole was slightly lower than these averages.

The table below shows the percentage of time travelled at various speeds (peak period) around the English urban road network.

	speed (mph)						percentage of time
Area	0	1-5	5-10	10-15	15-20	20-25	25-30	30-35	35-40	40-50	50+
Bournemouth/Poole	14	10	9	9	11	12	14	10	5	5	2
Brighton/Hove	23	9	7	7	7	10	14	10	4	3	6
Southampton	25	12	10	7	8	9	10	9	6	3	0
Blackpool	18	6	5	7	10	16	20	13	3	2	0
Portsmouth	23	11	7	7	9	12	14	7	3	3	6

Source: Transport Statistics Bulletin(DETR); 'Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas:2002'

In Bournemouth/Poole in 2002 during the peak period, only 2% of the time was the traffic speed greater than 50 mph. 14% of the time was spent stationary on roads in Bournemouth/Poole.

The table below shows the percentage of time travelled at various speeds (off-peak period) around the English urban road network.

	speed (mph)						percentage of time
Area	0	1-5	5-10	10-15	15-20	20-25	25-30	30-35	35-40	40-50	50+
Bournemouth/Poole	9	5	5	8	10	14	19	13	7	7	3
Brighton/Hove	21	8	7	7	7	8	15	11	4	4	8
Southampton	20	8	6	7	8	10	15	14	8	4	0
Blackpool	19	5	5	8	11	17	19	11	3	1	0
Portsmouth	16	6	6	8	10	14	17	8	4	3	9

Source: Transport Statistics Bulletin(DETR); 'Traffic Speeds in English Urban Areas:2002'

In Bournemouth/Poole in 2002 during the off-peak period, only 3% of the time was the traffic speed greater than 50 mph. During off-peak times the percentage of time spent stationary on roads around Bournemouth/Poole dropped to 9%.
In comparison with surveys conducted previously, between 1999/00 and 2002, Bournemouth/Poole saw an increase of 1 mph on average peak period traffic speeds and a reduction in average speed by 0.4 mph for off-peak periods.

Please note that figures are based on limited information and true figures may vary.

page last revised 31/03/03