A Tale Of Two Dips

I was chatting with Sam recently about this blog post, which covers our experience riding from Callow End to Powick after the event he had hosted. Sam makes the trip into Worcester on a bike regularly, including twice a week as a Bike Bus volunteer rider. We discussed how bad that section is and what, if anything, was in the planning to address this. I thought he might have a thing or two to say.He did. And not all of it was bad news. The dip between Callow End and Powick, is currently identified by the local councillor Tom Wells as his top priority for improvement this year. That means widening and resurfacing of the footway and work on the road itself. Sam has been keeping a close eye on proceedings and has discussed this with the parish council, Tom Wells and Highways. It seems there will also be solid white lines added to prevent overtaking, in what is currently a brief (300m?) section of national speed limit.This is when Sam started ranting a bit. Talking about his frustration at the response he received when suggesting the speed limit remains unchanged (30mph) between the two villages (spoiler: it wasn't a positive response). He's right, it makes no sense to change it to national speed limit for such a short period, not least because encouraging cars to accelerate to something approaching 60  only to then be forced to break to slow back to 30 is nothing short of a waste of energy . It sets the wrong tone, encouraging speed and increasing road danger on what feels like a prime active travel route between the villages. Sam says that for Callow Enders improving the route for walking or cycling would mean access to more and better buses, or onward travel into town etc. If, as has been stated in the Active Travel Stakeholder Forum meetings we've attended, encouraging and enabling active travel is a key aim for the county, then this is a low-cost intervention that would do exactly that.In a bizarre twist, due to the resurfacing work that has been carried out in the dip, the nirvana that is a reduced speed limit and people driving with greater care and attention was briefly realised. Check out these videos Sam sent me. The first shows the road prior to the resurfacing. The second is shot after the resurfacing, with a temporary 20mph limit in place. Imagine all that traffic rushing past the pedestrian at 50-60mph!So, a perfect example of a low cost intervention that would reduce road danger, enable and encourage more active travel, improve motor vehicle efficiency and is likely to be popular.It's a yes from me. As always, both myself and Sam would be happy to walk or cycle the route with anyone casting doubt on the concerns raised regarding the risk posed by motor vehicles on this stretch.National speed limit[embed]https://youtu.be/539kxjqcuVA[/embed] 20mph temporary speed limit[embed]https://youtu.be/XYP6_53SCB4[/embed]