Agenda item

PETITIONS

To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 68.

 

Two petitions have been received and officer responses are attached.

 

Petition 1 – Request for the introduction of a 20mph speed limit in Ewell Village

 

Lead petitioner: Clare Clark   Signatures: 552

 

Petition 2 – Request not to consider the closure of the access to Horsley Close, Epsom from Waterloo Road

 

Lead petitioner: Janet Burgess   Signatures: 188

Decision:

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed:

 

Petition 1: Request for the introduction of a 20mph speed limit in Ewell Village

 

To allocate funding for a feasibility study if possible in 2019/20, subject to further discussions to identify suitable funding.

 

Petition 2: Request not to consider the closure of the access to Horsley Close, Epsom from Waterloo Road

 

To withdraw the proposed consultation of affected residents on the plan to close the entrance to Horsley Close from Waterloo Road and not to proceed further with this proposal.

 

Reasons:  Petition 1: to evaluate the existing conditions in Ewell village and develop options to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety.

 

Petition 2: To take account of residents views, which are not supportive of the proposal.

 

Minutes:

Declarations of Interest:  Cllr Reynolds declared a personal interest in Petition 1 as a resident of Ewell village.  Cllr Neil Dallen declared a personal interest in Petition 2 as a resident of Hazon Way.

 

Officers attending: Peter Shimadry, Senior Traffic Engineer

 

Petitions, Public Questions/Statements: Two petitions were received.

 

Petition 1:  Clare Clark set out the reasons for the petition to introduce 20mph speed limits in Ewell Village.  Both walking and cycling can be dangerous in the area as the pavements are narrow and vehicles often pass at speed.  Incidents have been recorded for several decades and there have been numerous stories of dangerous incidents and near misses which are not included in the accident data.  Many children walk to school in the area and it is important that it is a safe environment for them to do so.  There is lots of data available on the benefits of reducing speeds to 20mph and there was no rationale for setting local limits at 30mph.  Slower speeds are known to reduce the severity of injuries to casualties.  Although the council policy is only to introduce 20mph limits with traffic calming, unless speeds are already low, the community would be happy to just have a singed restriction.  Reduced speeds are also known to help with pollution and reduce traffic noise.  The extent of the required zone was left deliberately vague to allow SCC to consult more widely.

 

Petition 2: Residents had been made aware of the Committee’s wish to consult on the option of closing Horsley Close at the junction of Waterloo Road via Facebook.  They did not want a closure as this would restrict access only one entry and exit via Hazon Way which is already a dangerous junction.  It is unfair on residents to suggest this closure to deal with anti-social behaviour which the authorities have been unable to address effectively.  Vehicles wait in this location as there is no parking provision at the station and no effective enforcement.  Closing the access will not reduce the anti-social behaviour in the car park and could increase it.  Two drug dealers have been arrested this week in the area and residents feel that the installation of CCTV could solve the anti-social behaviour issues.

 

Member discussion –key points

 

Petition 1:  The Senior Traffic Engineer agreed that safety improvements and encouraging more people to walk and cycle are important, however there is no evidence that signed only areas reduce speeds and sometimes speeds actually increase if traffic calming is not introduced alongside the reductions.  A feasibility study would help to inform the Committee of what would need to be done and it may be possible to improve safety in a different way without reducing speeds.

 

The divisional member indicated that he supports 20mph limits in specific locations in the vicinity of schools or in areas with high casualty numbers, but is yet to be convinced of the effectiveness of signed only areas.  The local Residents Association has been working with the police to analyse speeds in two roads in the area and is awaiting the results.

 

It was noted that traffic calming by means of road tables would cost around £25k per table and these would be required every 50m.  The Committee only has £150k available in the current year for all local work, so whilst the Committee may support such an initiative it would not have sufficient funding to implement it.  If a feasibility study is agreed to start in the current year members wanted to know which projects, already agreed, would not be able to go ahead.  It was not possible to provide this information at the meeting as further discussions would be required.  Members wished to limit the cost of any feasibility study to £5,000 initially and for any further expenditure above this level to be agreed by the Committee.

 

Petition 2:  The divisional member was in favour of removing the closure option and it was felt that there seemed to be little point in carrying out a formal consultation when there was little if any support from residents.  However the Committee felt that it was important to keep working to try and resolve the anti-social behaviour issues.  The divisional member indicated that she had been in regular contact with both Orbit and National Rail and although they indicate that they will take action, this has often not materialised.  It was noted that it is not possible to carry out parking enforcement by means of ANPR cameras in Surrey.  Members suggested that perhaps some of the S106 money could be used on CCTV cameras, but this was thought to be unlikely as it has been designated for pedestrian and cycling improvements.  It was unclear whether removing this proposal would affect the other initiatives agreed to use the s106 funding, if any changes were required a further report would be brought to the next meeting.

 

Resolved:

 

Petition 1: Request for the introduction of a 20mph speed limit in Ewell Village

 

To allocate funding for a feasibility study, if possible in 2019/20, subject to further discussions to identify suitable funding.

 

Petition 2: Request not to consider the closure of the access to Horsley Close, Epsom from Waterloo Road

 

To withdraw the proposed consultation of affected residents on the plan to close the entrance to Horsley Close from Waterloo Road and not to proceed further with this proposal.

 

Reasons:  Petition 1: to evaluate the existing conditions in Ewell village and develop options to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety.

 

Petition 2: To take account of residents views, which are not supportive of the proposal.

 

Supporting documents: