Richard Turnbull of www.brightride.org.uk is conducting some market research to find out if there is demand for hiring out e-bikes in Chichester. If you want to invite friends and family to experience Centurion Way, an e-bike hire scheme might be an appealing prospect for you? Maybe you would be interested in trying out an e-bike yourself?
If you have not already tried riding e-bikes, they feel very much like riding a standard bike except they involve much less physical effort (particularly when going up hills).
There was a surprisingly large variation in traffic volumes from day to day on Centurion Way during January 2021. Presumably the variation was due to the changeable weather?
Our counter at the Southern end of the path by Bishop Luffa school recorded the data shown in the cart below.
Over the duration of the month January 2021 a total of 25939 individual journeys were recorded by the counter averaging 837 journeys recorded each day over this period.
The peak level of use in January 2021 was on Sunday the 17 which saw 711 people heading Northbound and 716 heading Southbound. This gave a total of 1427 journeys recorded on January 2021 Sunday the 17, by our counter at Bishop Luffa School.
The count on the 1st of January only began at around 1pm so morning journeys made on the 1st of January are missing from the data.
A file containing comma separated values (csv format) with the recorded count given for each hour over January 2021 is available here Jan2021.csv
The raw data can be read using the IMMotion software available here https://www.im-motion.com/downloads/Details of the USB Axiomatic Counters used by the Friends of Centurion Way to keep count of the people using the path are available here. https://peoplecounting.co.uk/
The FoCW have fitted a people counter at the Southern end of Centurion Way. This is so we can document the number of people using the path and use the figures to argue for the preservation of walking and cycling opportunities in the area. The Southern end of Centurion Way is threatened by local housing development plans may turn the land our path occupies into a busy access road for motor-vehicles to access the new development. This is likely to severely limit opportunities for walking and cycling in the West of Chichester.
To make sure the figures recorded by the FoCW counter are credible, we are verifying the automated count. We are doing this by running a number of parallel human made counts so that we can demonstrate our counter system is producing reliable and trustworthy data.
On Tuesday the 13th Jan 2021 friends of Centurion Way members Julia Smith and Mark Record counted the number of people on the path between 10:06 Am and 10:36 Am.
Julia counted 12 people heading Northbound and Mark counted only 9 heading Southbound.
The automated people counter registered 13 people heading Northbound (an unusual slight over-count of 1) and 8 people heading Southbound.
Over the same period of time, the total of number of people registered by the counter tallied 100% with the human made count but with a discrepancy of 1 person being attributed a differing direction of travel.
This shows the FoCW beam counter is giving a good estimate of the volume of people using the path and also a good indication of the direction these people are travelling.
Because it was a cold drizzly winter morning, few people were venturing outside to use the path.
Julia now has a kit of equipment that allows her to download and read the data from the counter!
A chart of this years daily use of the counter up until 4 PM on the 15th Jan 2021 is shown below.
An important stage in setting up a system for counting people using Centurion Way at its Southern end, is to verify that our Axiomatic People counter is registering people on the path correctly.
Automated counting is not as straight forward as it may first appear using a beam counter. For example a child in a pram looks very much like a trolley full of groceries to our infrared light beams that the counters use to detect people. We want to be sure only to count people passing and avoid false counts from trolleys, cats and dogs.
It was anticipated the counters would under count slightly. Our hope is that they can provide a reliable lower bound to the number of people who use the path daily.
Sarah Sharp (a Green Party Chichester District Councillor) joined Mark Record (from the FoCW) to make a verification count on the 7th January 2021.
Between 15:08 and 15:38, Sarah and Mark counted the number of people passing the counter on the path.
Sarah counted 34 people heading South bound while the counter registered 29 individuals travelling in that direction.
Mark counted 26 people heading North bound while the counter registered 23 individuals travelling in that direction.
This indicates the counter picked up 86.6% of the people passing which is well within the 20% accuracy the FoCW were hoping the counters would achieve.
The Friends of Centurion Way counter began counting on New Years Day 2021 and the next stage of the project is to make sure it is making a reasonable estimate of the level of traffic on the path.
On Sunday Morning 3rd Jan 2021 Gabby Adams cycled into Chichester from Fishbourne to help us figure how to download data from the equipment and to make certain it was counting reliably.
Gabby noticed the height that counter had been installed at coincided exactly with where the infrared light beam might be blocked by an obstruction on the opposite side of the path. This would be likely to cause issues with the reliability of the count. The the FoCW have now re-adjusted the height of the counter to solve this minor issue. Gabby’s cheerful expression is partly due to her having just fitted chemical warming pads into her boots and having warm toes even in the winter frost.
Bill Sharp arrived on Sunday afternoon on the 3rd Jan 2021 to help Mark Record do a manual verification count to check the counters were working reliably.
Between 14:55 and 15:25 Bill counted 35 people heading Southbound and Mark counted 25 going Northbound.
The counter’s infrared light beam is positioned approximately 1.1 metres above the path and we noticed several small children passed beneath the height where the counter could register them. In addition, many Chichester couples are surprisingly romantic and walk past the counter arm in arm (gazing lovingly at each other) and this is likely to confuse our counter which will only recorded such couples as a single people.
During the manual count the automated counter registered 23 people passing Northbound (On Channel A) and 27 heading Southbound (On Channel B). This gave an automated count figure of 83.3% of that which we had counted manually. FoCW may consider lowering the counter so it might better record small children using the path but we need to consider many people also walk large dogs here and our figures may lack credibility if the sensor regularly counts large pets as well as people. We will make additional tests of the system before committing to any further changes to the set up.
A chart of the CW path’s hourly use at the start of the year can be seen below…
Happy New Year to everyone on behalf of the FoCW
Mark Record
Technical details for FoCW way counter system data-analysts …
We will soon be sharing an SFTP accessible web-server upload location for the raw counter data.
To access or link to these files after you have uploaded them via SFTP, prefix their file name with the following text (without the inverted commas) “http://centurionway.org.uk/CounterData/”
For example I have uploaded the file with name “2021-01-03.MEM”
This can now be referenced using a link constructed as follows…
At approximately 12 O’clock on New Years day of 2021 the Centurion Way people counter first began continuously logging how many people use the Southern end of Centurion Way. It also monitors at what times people chose to travel on the path.
Philip Maber cheated frosty winter weather wearing toasty neoprene gloves (that he got for Christmas) while he bolted on the mount that now holds the FoCW counter.
The next stage of this project is to make manual verification counts in parallel with the automatic counter so that we can determine if it is functioning correctly.
We hope plenty of people enjoy using Centurion Way in the New Year so we can get a good count with high numbers . This will help us lobby lobby local government to maintaining adequate walking and cycling facilities in this part of Chichester despite the pressure to re-allocate this public space as a busy access road to new housing development.
Happy New Year to everyone,
Mark Record (on behalf of the friends on Centurion Way)
Friends of Centurion Way have long wished to record the number of people using the pathway. This project is of particular importance as it will bolster our demands for continued good quality provision for walking and cycling as new housing development puts pressure on town planning decisions on the west of Chichester.
Many individuals supporters of Centurion Way have generously donated funds and the South Downs National Park has also made a substantial contribution towards the installation of a counting system. However the Covid 19 pandemic threw a big spanner into the works regarding our procurement and installation of a working system. Philip Maber pursued a promising solution that utilised a video camera coupled with an artificial intelligence computer system. This promised to deliver a sophisticated analysis of how Centurion Way is used by different kinds of users. Unfortunately we were unable to resolve a number of issues such as who could authorise us connecting to the mains supply from the pathways street lights that would have been necessary to provide power to this system.
In November the Friends of Centurion Way changed tack and decided to use a simpler counter system provided by Axiomatic that relies on an infrared beam of light similar to that produced by a TV remote control. The design of this system is such that a transmitter and receiver unit needs to be fitted on either side of the path at approximately 1.2 metres height above ground level. Although we have already received delivery of this counter system, installation is delayed while we put together a secure mounting system. Unlike the video camera system, the infrared beam modules will be within reach of the general public. We do not wish to have curious individuals interfering with our counter system.
Chichester District Councillor Sarah Sharp took a look at the counter system components on Christmas Day 2020 and lent a helpful hand fabricating the metal enclosures for the counter modules
Our aim is to have these counters in place early in January 2021 and Sarah has also kindly offered to help with our verification counts that will ensure the system is working correctly as it measures the number of people using Centurion Way each day.
Wishing all our supporters a happy and prosperous New year in 2020.
The West of Chichester Development which will bring 1600 new homes that will be sited next door to Centurion Way.
The friends of Centurion Way have been following the planning procedure for these homes and wanted to make sure new residents have easy access onto Centurion Way
We have successfully negotiated with the CDC planning committee and developers so that there will be an access way where new residents can join the path. The approximate position of the new link is shown in the image below.
This connection should have minimum impact on the natural appearance of the path. However, we feel it will prove a handy link for many path users. It will join Centurion Way onto a quiet street which then links via a short shared walking/cycle-way to a new centre where shops will be located. Hopefully, it will soon be possible to head westwards on this link so anyone on Centurion way can make a short detour to get refreshments from the new shops opening in the heart of this new residential development.
In absence of an agreed transport infrastructure master-plan for Phase 2 West of Chichester Development, the developers wish to start construction of the Southern Access Road without knowing how it will connect to the existing city transport network!
Provision for local walking and cycling along this section of Southern Access Road, is of notably poor quality. This is likely to seriously impede the up take up of walking and cycling in the new housing development.
Details of planning for the sports area can be found on the following link.
Within this application under documents is a drawing (09 Oct 2019-Plan-Under Consideration-Measure document icon-MLR/E4517/01/006-INDICATIVE STREET LIGHTING LAYOUT (A1) showing street lighting detail on the following link.
An image extracted from this pdf file can be viewed below.
Observe what looks like part of the southern access road at the bottom left of the plan and the crescent shaped parking area!
14/04301/OUT | Outline planning application with all matters reserved (except for access) for the first phase of development for up to 750 homes can be found on the following link.
It is my understanding that the White House Farm housing development failed to gain planning consent for the original Southern Access Road proposal who’s plans (22 Mar 2016-Application Form-Measure document icon-MASTERPLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE APPENDICES/PLANS, page 28 of 32) can be viewed using the link to 14/04301/OUT below.
An image extracted from page 28 of 32 of this pdf file can be viewed below.
Phase 1 S106 Plans for the junction between Westgate and Sherbourne Road have already been agreed and closely match the designs shown in the drawing above.
Merging together drawings “19_02584_REM-INDICATIVE_STREET_LIGHTING_LAYOUT” & “14_04301_OUT-MASTERPLANNING_AND_INFRASTRUCTURE_APPENDICES_PLANS” gives the image below.
It is clear from overlaying the plans that the drawing “19/02584/REM | Application plans for a sports area” defines part of the Southern Access Road identically to the plans that previously failed to gain outline planning consent!
Local Residents are Frustrated by a Planning Process that has Failed to Adhere to Fundamental DfT National Design Guidelines
Fundamental guidelines set out by the Department of Transport are being completely ignored! It is unconventional to begin building mid sections of a spine road intended to connect a large development to a city without first obtaining agreement with local stakeholders about how the road will integrate with their community. People want to know how the new road will impact existing infrastructure such as popular national cycleways and footpaths.
There is significant stress and concern within the local community that this road will continue to be extended until it severs walking and cycling routes like Centurion Way, the National South Coast Cycle Route (ChEmRoute) and walking cycling provision between Chichester City and Tesco Supermarket.
The Friends of Centurion Way have now been campaigning for over 30 months in order to reduce the impact of the Southern Access Road on the existing walking and Cycling network. Our offers to engage the original architect of centurion way (John Grimshaw) have been ignored.
It does not seem reasonable to disguise planning for a segment of this Controversial Southern Access road within a planning application for sports fields. What is perhaps more surprising is that FoCW campaigners only discovered the existence of the proposed section of road from a drawing of proposed street lighting. The design for the Southern Access road is shown carrying only one pavement on its north western side. Cyclists travelling in both directions are expected to share a single pavement with all other non motorised road users. Lamp-posts will be set into the middle of the pavement which fails in almost every regard to meet Department for Transport minimum standards for a shared use path.
The DfT publication the Manual for Streets 2007 (page 31) explains the importance of developing a Detailed Transport Masterplan for larger developments at the early design stages.
3.6.25 Detailed masterplans are likely to be needed for schemes at the higher end of the scale in terms of size and complexity. For relatively simple proposals, a detailed scheme layout is all that is likely to be needed. Guidance on the masterplanning process is given in Creating Successful Masterplans: A Guide for Clients.
3.6.26 It is important when preparing a detailed masterplan, that all of the critical features which impact on the efficiency and quality of the development – and which cannot be changed once it is built – are carefully considered
S106 Plans for the junction between Westgate and Sherbourne Road also match the same plans that failed to gain outline planning consent! Redesign of this roundabout without proper consideration for it foreseeably being connected with the Phase 2 Souther Access Road is a fundamental infringement of DfT recommended design principles.
I have previously criticised these previously rejected Southern Access Road plans here, here, here and here because they are wholly inadequate for the local needs for pedestrians and cyclists.
Please write to Chichester District Planning authority to insist that the application plans for the sports area are not granted until there has been adequate consultancy with the local community and an agreement has been reached on master plan designs for a Spine Road that caters for local walking and cycling needs.
On New Years Day 2020, the Friends of Centurion Way met on the path to enjoy mince pies, sausage rolls and mulled wine. This was a celebration of the start of a new decade. We hope for a future where local people can conveniently and easily walk or cycle between Chichester city centre and Centurion Way. Dogs of all shapes and sizes enjoyed the dog treats on offer and a couple of crafty canines snaffled mince pies and sausage rolls too.