Truro Quiet Lanes Trial
For latest information on the scheme scroll down to Update - October 2022
We are working with partners to improve the health and fitness of residents and visitors, and tackle climate change, by promoting walking and cycling projects and encouraging more people to leave their cars at home.
One of these projects involved the Quiet Lanes, a network of rural, mainly unclassified, lanes between the B3284 (Shortlanesend area) and the A390 (Royal Cornwall Hospital and Threemilestone area).
The narrow lanes, which are unsuitable for high levels of traffic, are being used as a short cut by commuters travelling into the city and the hospital. 
We carried out a trial aimed at making the lanes more attractive and accessible for people walking and cycling by reducing the amount of traffic. This was intended to create a 15km network of quiet walking and cycling routes linking key destinations in Truro, helping to encourage more healthy lifestyles after the pandemic.
What did the trial involve?
Under the trial only residents and their visitors, and companies delivering to properties within the zone, were officially allowed to use the lanes. Vehicle prohibition signs were erected at 11 entry points, with the restrictions enforceable by the police. (see Plan below or view here)
The traffic prohibitions were made using an 'Experimental Traffic Regulation Order' (copy found here). A formal statutory consultation is part of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order process during the first 6 months of the trial. Traffic and user surveys were also undertaken to assess the impact of the scheme.
Feedback from that process, alongside the user surveys and comparison of 'before and during' traffic monitoring data fed into the eventual decision on whether to make the traffic prohibitions permanent, to change the trial or scrap the whole idea.
The trial went live on Thursday 16th September 2021 and finished on 15th September 2022.
Update - October 2022 - Council listens to feedback as Truro Quiet Lanes trial comes to an end
The experimental trial to reduce through traffic using a network of rural lanes on the outskirts of Truro has ended and the results assessed. (See full results here)
The Quiet Lanes trial aimed to make a 15km network between Shortlanesend and Threemilestone safer for people wanting to walk and cycle there by banning motorists from driving through the narrow rural lanes unless they lived in the area or were making deliveries to residents.
Residents and commuters have been able to give their feedback before and during the year-long trial as part of the consultation process running alongside the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order. That feedback, together with recent traffic surveys and discussions with local stakeholders, including local Cornwall councillors, has been analysed.
The conclusion is that the trial has not been widely supported and that there has been no material shift in the behaviour of motorists using those roads. As a result, the trial is ending, the restrictions have now been lifted, and the signs removed.
Funding for the trial has come from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel fund which supports measures to bring about a modal shift to encourage people to walk and cycle more, especially where the journey is a short one.
Cornwall Council portfolio holder for transport Philip Desmonde said: “As part of this ‘living’ trial, a six-month statutory consultation period was in-built as part of the process to gather and assess the views of the public and stakeholders.
“The pre-trial user survey received 639 responses with 45% supporting it and 51% against the restrictions (The full results can be found here) – however the overriding majority of the circa 200 comments and emails received during the trial have been negative. The majority of these comments came from motorists who had previously used the lanes as a short cut to the A390. We have taken all the feedback, alongside the monitoring evidence, to make an informed decision on whether there are grounds to make the trial permanent, amend it or stop it. On balance, the decision is to stop and not make the order permanent as we take on board the valuable lessons that have been learned.
“For example, competing priorities for police resources and the difficulties in enforcing a ban in an area where access is still required to properties and businesses within the impacted area. Any future scheme will essentially need to be ‘self-enforcing’ or managed through the use of technology, as and when moving vehicle offences become enforceable by the Council.
“We’re committed to putting the infrastructure in place to enable people to make more sustainable choices about how they travel. Road transport is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions and around a quarter of car journeys in Cornwall are of less than three miles. We all need to look at how we travel and the changes we can make – big or small – that can help make a difference. It’s good for our health, the environment, and – in these increasingly cash-strapped times – our wallets too.
“This trial has helped us to understand the pressure points – which is exactly why the restrictions were introduced as a trial and not a permanent change. I'm disappointed that we have been unable to make it permanent, but given the response from motorists using the lanes as a cut through, it’s clear we need to look at providing more sustainable transport options, to relieve pressure on the A390 as well as supporting healthier, greener and more affordable ways of accessing services.”
Comments
So now the residents of the enclosed area will have Private Roads maintained and paid for by people who pay taxes and will be barred from driving down them. And that means their property prices will go up as well. Also people who use taxis from RCH to shortlanesend and visa versa will have to go the more costly way. What more ridiculous ideas have the council got pipeline.
Although a good idea in principle, the measures in practice appear to have passed the problem on to others.
As others have commented, Truro City Centre has seen noticibly Increased traffic, including in its residential areas. I live on St. Georges Road and have noted a huge increase in morning commuter / school run traffic, on what used to be a relatively quiet road. The general Kenwyn area appears to be similarly affected.
These quiet lanes have clearly absorbed traffic from main routes over time, and allow some traffic to bypass existing high traffic areas, helping to regulate overall capacity. Ending their use completely for this purpose means causing other issues elsewhere.
I hope the council will consider this impact and monitor it over the duration of the scheme. Perhaps alternative measures can be conceived that don't result in this zero sum game.
I used the lanes daily to take my child to school. This trial has doubled our commute which used to be half an hour each way. My two year old daughter is also in the car so we are now travelling for four hours per day which seems ridiculous.
I have used those lanes for five years, alongside other families and NHS staff who access the hospital. I do not understand the timing of this trial when the county is already under pressure from visitors and the roadworks on the A30. Why penalise locals who are just trying to go about their daily lives? There must already be consequences at the under-pressure Treliske as people struggle to access it on time for work and for appointments.
I completely agree with the environmental argument. During all the time I’ve used the lanes, I rarely see walkers or cyclists, (I suspect this is partly as they are not that accessible, with little access to parking and very steep inclines). However I suspect leisure users are much more inclined to use them during the day so why not introduce a timed quiet period which is outside of rush hour?
I understand that during peak times there are 200 cars using this area, however there are 10miles of lanes so this does not seem excessive. There is no environmental benefit whatsoever to increasing congestion on other routes, where it will add to queuing and incrementally produce the paradox of even more engines lying idle for longer.
After just one week I think we can see this has been very ill thought out.
I have walked in Newmills Lane since it was designated a Quiet Lane and have encountered a lot of cars using it at just after eight am. My walk was constantly interrupted to stand into the hedges to allow car after car to come through. A nightmare!!
Could taxis use the bus lanes now the quiet lanes is being used.
The traffic in the mornings is much worse in Truro city centre since the roads have been closed. It is taking me 20 minutes to get from the train station to Aldi! It is doubling my commute time.
Did you know...
... that a third of journeys currently made by car are less than 5km long? Switching to walking and cycling where possible not only has great health benefits, but is also good for the environment !
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