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Having witnessed 4 very serious accidents in 5 months this junction needs attention before someone is killed!
This ePetition ran from 08/11/2021 to 08/02/2022 and has now finished.
114 people signed this ePetition.
Dear Mr Brewer
Thank you for submitting your petition to request a reduction in
the speed limit on A233 Westerham Hill, Westerham and an increase
in junction warning signage at the crossroads of A233 Westerham
Hill, A233 London Road and Pilgrims Way.
I appreciate the time you have taken to raise this issue with me.
We take every suggestion about road safety very seriously.
In accordance with our ‘Petition Service’ as your
letter contains less than 1,000 signatures I have investigated and
reviewed your concerns in my role as the Cabinet Member for
Highways and Transport.
We receive many requests for the implementation of improvements on
the highway, and all requests are reviewed and prioritised. We use
an evidence-based approach to prioritise investment in our highway
improvement projects to achieve safer roads and streets. Our first
priority is to check if there is any pattern of personal injury
crash records for the past three years that could be addressed by
engineering methods.
Our officers have reviewed the personal injury collision data for
the last available three-year period (currently up to 31 December
2021). The data indicates that there have been 7 incidents
resulting in personal injury at this location. Whilst this site
does not currently feature on our latest annual list of crash
cluster sites, our officers do feel that it warrants further
investigation. We have therefore undertaken a site visit and are
currently reviewing what potential improvement measures could be
practically implemented here (subject to any funding being
approved).
With regards to the speed limit on A233 Westerham Hill, I can
advise that our officers work to guidance set out in the Department
for Transport circular 01/2013 ‘Setting Local Speed
Limits’ to help ensure that any speed limits are evidence-led
and self-explaining, with the aim to encourage self-compliance. The
key factors that should be taken into account in any decisions on
local speed limits are:
• history of collisions
• road geometry, environment and engineering
• road function
• composition of road users (including existing and potential
levels of vulnerable road users)
• existing traffic speeds
The road at this location is rural and has a predominate through
traffic function being the A233. Properties are very sparse and
those present are set back from the road, with some bends,
junctions and accesses. Warning signs are in place for the hazards
including bends and junctions. There are no footways or street
lighting present and some evidence of vulnerable road users.
We must also bear in mind that the vast majority of the rural road
network is subject to the national speed limit of 60mph on single
carriageway roads. On many of these roads, the majority of drivers
are travelling below, sometimes significantly below the speed limit
because of the geometric characteristics of the road, which
includes narrow carriageway widths, bends, junctions and accesses.
Drivers will often drive to what they can see on the road ahead
rather than up to the national speed limit and there are only
terminal signs at each end of the speed limit, with no repeater
signage throughout. This would change with a reduction in the speed
limit and there is a risk that drivers may believe that it is safe
to travel at inappropriate speeds when negotiating hazards such as
bends. Speed limits should not be used to warn of single hazards
but relate to the whole road environment. A change in the posted
speed limit alone will rarely make a significant change to the
actual speeds of vehicles being driven along a road. Typically, a
reduction of only 2-3mph is achieved through signing alone.
Our officers have reviewed available average speed data for the
A233 Westerham Hill / London Road between the roundabout with
Beggars Lane and the change of speed limit to 30 mph just north of
Grays Road. The data indicates a v