East Sussex residents call for lower speed limits on village roads

The petition calls for a speed limits in residential areas of villages to be reduced to 20mph and to take into account the views and experiences of local residents.

Local campaigners Mark Slater, from Barcombe, and Charlotte Keenan, from Newick, presented the petition at Tuesday’s East Sussex County Council meeting.

Mark said; “Just this week there was a serious accident in Cooksbridge and a few weeks ago another on the A272 at North Chailey, and yet time and time again East Sussex County Council says ‘no’ to slowing down the traffic in our villages.

"They say not enough people have been injured to make a change, but our petition shows that hundreds of people do not agree, and feel that the Council is just not listening to them. We need to see a new approach that prioritises prevention - not further tragedies.”

Charlotte added: “There are no signs on the A272 indicating that motorists should slow down for people who might be crossing the road and only one safety island for pedestrians.

"In Newick it is 30 mph on the main road, and it is mostly children and older people who use buses and who by necessity cross the road. Lots of people are scared and afraid to cross the road safely and their experiences are rarely listened to.

“The county council’s approach is all about the people passing through, not those who live and work in an area. We need an overhaul of the whole road safety policy that really takes into account pedestrians, cyclists and other road users’ views.”

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The council confirmed it received the petition and told SussexWorld that implementing a default 20mph speed limit across the county would cost them several millions of pounds.

With a finite amount of funding to develop road safety, the council believe lowering village speed limits to 20mph is not a priority.

A spokesperson for ESCC said: “We have a finite amount of funding to develop local road safety and transport improvements and need to ensure that we target our resources to those schemes which will be of greatest benefit to our local communities.

"The latest available evidence indicates that a default 20mph speed limit on residential roads would not make best use of our resources, and that targeted interventions are more effective. Therefore, at present, lowering village speed limits to 20mph is not an identified priority for the county council.

“We recognise that there are schemes that do not meet the county council’s benchmark for funding but are important to the local community.

"These schemes can sometimes be funded through our Community Match initiative which is open to parish and town councils, residents’ associations and local community groups and is managed by our Highways department.”

The petition will be presented to a future lead member for Transport and Environment meeting for consideration in due course.