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Report to: |
Lead Member for Transport and Environment
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Date of meeting:
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21 June 2021 |
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By: |
Director of Communities, Economy and Transport
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Title: |
Petition calling on the County Council to take urgent action to improve road safety on the B2116
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Purpose: |
To consider the petition to improve road safety on the B2116
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RECOMMENDATIONS: The Lead Member is recommended to advise the petitioners that:
(1) During June 2020, East Sussex Highways undertook repairs east of the junction with Plumpton Lane. The work included a large patch repair to address the undulation in the road and a new road marking to highlight the edge of carriageway.
(2) The B2116/A275 junction has been identified as a Local Safety Scheme. Works will be carried out, this financial year, to improve the existing signing on the approaches to the junction to encourage lower speeds and highlight the need for drivers to give way.
(3) The B2116 between the County boundary near Keymer and A275 junction near Offham is one of the routes identified for a Strategic Casualty Reduction study during 2021/2022.
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1 Background Information
1.1 At the County Council meeting on 23 March 2021, Councillor Osborne presented a petition to the Chairman of the Council:
“We the undersigned petition the County Council to take urgent action to improve road safety on the B2116, especially at an accident ‘hotspot’ east of the junction with Plumpton Lane and the B2116. On Tuesday 7th January a coach carrying students home from Plumpton College was the latest vehicle to crash into a nearby field at this location. This is the same location as previous accidents on this part of the road and action needs to be taken by the County Council before lives are lost”.
1.2 A copy of the petition is available in the Members’ Room. Standing Orders provide that where the Chairman considers it appropriate, petitions are considered by the relevant Committee or Lead Member and a spokesperson for the petitioners is invited to address the Committee. The Chairman has referred this petition to the Lead Member for Transport and Environment.
2 Supporting Information
2.1 The B2116 runs between the County boundary near Keymer in the west and the A275 near Offham in the east. The average annual daily two-way traffic flow is 3,363 vehicles. A Location Plan is included in Appendix 1.
2.2 On the 7th January 2020 a coach carrying students from Plumpton College left the road to the east of Plumpton Lane and 12 students were injured. Although a number of non-highway related factors contributed to the incident, East Sussex Highways have carried out a large patch repair to address an undulation in the road and introduced a new road marking to help highlight the edge of the carriageway. This work was completed on 3 June 2020.
2.3 The Road Safety Team uses a three-year assessment period to prioritise road safety work. This helps to ensure our resources are targeted at locations that are experiencing the highest number of personal injury crashes (PIC’s) and allows us to monitor our road safety work effectively. This approach is based on national guidance and best practice.
2.4 Sites are identified where there have been four or more crashes involving personal injury within the assessment period. In addition routes, or sections of routes, on the A and B class network are identified where the level of personal injury crashes are disproportionate to the traffic flow, with emphasis placed on routes displaying the highest level of serious and fatal road crashes.
2.5 A number of sites and routes are then identified for investigation as part of the annual Road Safety Programme. Interventions are then progressed within the available budget on a priority basis, targeted where they will produce the greatest impact in terms of their contribution to casualty reduction.
2.7 The B2116 from the County boundary near Keymer to the A275 near Offham has been identified as part of the Road Safety Team’s Strategic Casualty Reduction (SCR) programme which aims to reduce the number and severity of crashes occurring on identified high risk routes. There have been two serious injury crashes and ten slight injury crashes reported to the Police on the B2116 during the three-year assessment period (1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020). The location and severity of the PIC’s recorded during the assessment period are shown in Appendix 2.
2.8 A detailed assessment of the crashes, to identify any trends or patterns, will be undertaken. The outcome of this study will be used to identify a range of appropriate safety improvements to address the types of crashes that have occurred during the assessment period. The resulting safety improvements will be implemented later this financial year.
3 Conclusion and Reasons for Recommendations
3.1 It is recommended that the petitioners be advised that during June 2020 East Sussex Highways undertook repairs to the east of Plumpton Lane to highlight the edge of carriageway and address an undulation in the road.
3.2 It is recommended that the petitioners be advised that a Local Safety Scheme to address the personal injury crashes at the B2116/A275 junction near Offham will be introduced this financial year.
3.3 It is recommended that the petitioners be advised that the B2116 is an identified route for a Strategic Casualty Reduction study, and that a range of safety improvements will be considered for implementation in line with the budget available later this financial year following a detailed analysis of the available crash data.
RUPERT CLUBB
Director of Communities, Economy and Transport
Contact Officer:
Michael Higgs
Tel. No. 01273 482106 Email:
michael.higgs@eastsussex.gov.uk
LOCAL MEMBER:
Councillor Sarah Osborne
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: