TRO3420 - RUFFORD FORD, RUFFORD LANE, RUFFORD - PROPOSED TRAFFIC CALMING AND PROHIBITION OF DRIVING - PUBLIC ADVERT

Overview

Rufford Ford has been temporarily closed since December 2022 following escalating anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving, which led to requests for the Council to close the road to vehicular traffic. Since then, Nottinghamshire County Council have explored several options for the future of the ford. In December 2023, we consulted on a proposal for a permanent closure. A number of objections were received, and the Council has carefully considered these. We now wish to consult again on an alternative option: reopening the road to vehicular traffic with new traffic-calming features, gates that would be closed when water levels rise to impact on road safety, and CCTV cameras to monitor the location. In addition, Variable Message Signs would be installed on nearby main roads to indicate when the ford is closed.

The attached drawing shows the proposed traffic-calming measures and the locations of the closure points. The traffic calming would consist of six 75mm-high round-top road humps spaced approximately 50 metres apart. This spacing is shorter than standard practice and is intended to slow vehicles as they approach the ford. The gates would be supported by a legal Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) that allows the road to be closed when the ford reaches a predetermined flood level. The gates would be substantial in design and clearly signed to reduce the risk of vehicle strikes. The exact location of the CCTV cameras is still to be determined; at this stage we are seeking the public’s views on the overall proposal.