Agenda item

To receive and answer any questions from Surrey County Council electors within the area in accordance with Standing Order 66.

Miss Christine Davis, of London Road A30 in Runnymede borough but bordering Sunningdale, asked the following question on behalf of herself and neighbours:

“Since last year the residents have been experiencing an incredible increase in traffic flow, especially from HGVs resulting in horrendous continuous noise resulting from when the HGV speed past making our properties/homes on London Road A30 – shuddering and making the contents of our homes and windows rattle and shake, causing a very distressing disruption of sleep, being kept awake, woken up and not being able to relax or feel safe in our own homes, not to mention what damage it is causing short and long term to our buildings/homes.

Accidents also are a cause for concerns as when you not only increase the traffic flow,  it also increases the risk of accidents, especially when drivers are speeding, plus when the weather is bad, this is also another concern regarding speeding.  There have been a number of accidents on this stretch of road, just recently back in Feb and March 2016 within a few weeks of each other two accidents, one involving a 3 car pile-up just meters away from my cottage.  This is what we want to avoid…does someone have to be killed or a property damaged before anything is done!  It should not be about money when lives are affected and peoples’ health and wellbeing!

We do not feel that we are asking too much and would like the County Council to work with both Windsor & Maidenhead council and the Thames Valley and Surrey police.

We would like to ask the following, if only on a temporary basis, to start to address the issues we are and have been experiencing for the last year or more and will continue to do for at least another year:

Question:

Will Surrey County Council liaise with the relevant authorities to:

-                        Install a speed camera on London Road approaching the county boundary,

(there are two within a very short distance from each other in Sunningdale Village, could not one of them be relocated to just before the residential area starts at the Surrey end? All residents including those in Sunningdale Village would still benefit.  The council would make a good sum of money based on speeding that is currently happening.  It would pay for itself in no time).

-                        Bring down the speed limit to 30mph (if not slower for lorries/ HGVs), if only during this period of diversion - although having said that we would like this to be 30mph long term?

A.   Response from Chairman on behalf of the Committee:

In response to the questions raised, the Local Committee would make the following comments:

Request for a speed camera

Sunningdale village is located within Berkshire and therefore any issues concerning the positioning of the existing speed enforcement cameras in Sunningdale should be raised with the local Highway Authority, The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.  However, within Surrey fixed speed cameras are reserved for the very worst collision hotspots where there has been a continuing history of personal injury collisions and where speeds have been measured and found to be excessive. This is because new fixed speed cameras can cost in the region of £50,000 and then require ongoing maintenance and processing of offences. (All of the fines from cameras go to central government via the courts).  The Local Committee is pleased to note that the section of 40mph road within Surrey has a good safety record and there have been no personal injury collisions reported in this length of road in the 5 year period to the end of March 2016 (the latest available data).  As such, there are currently no proposals to introduce a fixed speed enforcement camera within this length of road.  In addition, it should be noted that an enforcement camera would not be positioned such a short distance from the start of the 40mph speed limit. 

Request for introduction of a temporary/permanent 30mph speed limit

The County Council’s policy on setting speed limits aims to set speed limits that are successful in managing vehicle speeds and are appropriate for the main function of the road.

The policy requires that a speed limit assessment is undertaken if a change in speed limit is being considered.  As part of the assessment process a number of factors are considered to determine whether a change in speed limit is appropriate.  These include existing vehicle speeds and the views of Surrey Police (who are responsible for enforcing speed limits).

The policy also notes that lowering a speed limit on its own will not necessarily reduce vehicle speeds.  This is because motorists determine their speed based on the character of the road and conditions at the time.  If a speed limit is set much lower than prevailing vehicle speeds then it is likely to be widely disregarded. As such, it would have little value in improving road safety. Furthermore, introducing unrealistic speed limits could also undermine the effectiveness of speed limits more generally.

Surrey Police undertook a speed survey over a 7 day period in January 2016 in the section of London Road subject to a 40mph speed limit on the Surrey side of the county boundary.  The survey found the average speed of all vehicles recorded over this period to be 45mph.  This speed is significantly higher than the average speed at which a 30mph speed limit could be introduced in accordance with the County Council's Policy on setting speed limits.  Based on the existing vehicle speeds measured, Surrey Police has also confirmed it would not support the introduction of a 30mph speed limit at the location.

Whilst it is possible to impose a temporary speed limit, this requires a temporary traffic regulation order to be made and legislation only allows for an order to be made in certain circumstances.  In this instance there are no works actually taking place on the A30 that change the character of the road or impact on traffic.  As such, the legal advice received suggests it would be difficult to justify that there are appropriate grounds for making an order and Surrey County Council currently has no proposals to introduce a temporary speed limit within this area.  Furthermore, introducing a temporary speed limit on the A30 only when there is an overnight closure on the M3 would be potentially confusing for motorists, since the closures are not in place every night.  As such, there would be times when the speed limit on the A30 overnight would be changing from one night to the next and there would be no reason visible to motorists to explain why this change was taking place.  

The Local Committee recognises that residents will be disappointed by the above comments and it has asked the County Council's officers to continue to work with the neighbouring authority to see whether any alternative appropriate measures can be identified to help address the concerns raised.  As a result, a meeting is being arranged between representatives from Surrey County Council, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police.  The County Council's Senior Traffic Engineer for the North West Area Highway team will contact residents after this meeting has taken place to provide them with an update.

Supplementary Question from Ms Davis (at the Committee)

We, the residents, are not satisfied with this answer and we would like to request a representative at the meeting you mention, and in addition we would like to know what will be done in the short term?

The following response was given at the meeting:

Surrey Highways will not be inviting any residents to attend the aforementioned meeting to discuss the technical aspects of the issue, but will fulfill its commitment to communicate and explain the outcomes to Ms Davis and other interested parties afterwards. It should be noted that liaison with Highways England has indicated that they expect to undertake overnight diversions for ten nights per month over the next twelve months, but they are examining whether this can be reduced and we will notify you when they inform us. In discussion with Surrey Police they have indicated that they do not support a reduction in the speed limit to 30mph, and the reality is that if the Local Committee acted against their advice and set a new limit, it would not be enforced by Surrey Police.