Issue - meetings

Report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport

28.1     The Lead Member considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport together with written comments Councillor Sarah Osborne, the Local Member for the petition.

28.2     Ms Demelza Hill, a representative of the petition calling on the County Council to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians on Keymer Road Ditchling spoke to highlight safety concerns regarding the condition and maintenance of the footway along Keymer Road.

DECISIONS

28.3     The Lead Member RESOLVED to advise petitioners that:

(1) A potential scheme to improve the footway, provide an alternative cycle route and install traffic calming on Keymer Road has been assessed through the approved High Level Sift process and is not a priority for the County Council at the present time; and

(2) The section of Keymer Road between the Ditchling Parish Council Car Park and the County Boundary does not meet the Council’s policy for a lower speed limit.

REASONS

28.4     The County Council has a limited amount of funding to develop local transport improvements and needs to ensure that resources are targeted to those schemes which will be of greatest benefit to local communities. To help prioritise the numerous requests received for improvements, a process was developed to determine which schemes should be funded through the Integrated Transport Programme. The requests for improvements to the footway, an alternative cycle route and traffic calming measures have been assessed to determine if they might be a priority for future consideration; however, they did not achieve the benchmark score to be taken forward at this time.

28.5     The setting of appropriate and effective speed limits has been subject to a significant level of research. It is important drivers are provided with a consistent message, so they know what is expected of them as they enter different road environments. A predominant factor considered when determining an effective speed limit is the number of properties that are visible to drivers. There is little to no visible frontage development on the section of Keymer Road between the car park and the county boundary. This section of road does not meet the Council’s policy requirements for a lower speed limit therefore the national speed limit applies. Whilst this section of road is subject to the national speed limit, the onus is on the individual driver to drive in a safe and judicious manner, and to the conditions of the road and the surroundings through which they pass.