At the 2003 AGM it was agreed that this stretch of road should be subject to a 30 mph speed limit. Previous AGMs have also expressed the wish that Bradbourne Vale Road should have measures imposed to make it safer. The Committee have therefore produced the following document, initially for consultation with members and other residents in Bradbourne Vale Road, before taking up the matters with the appropriate authorities.
If any members or other residents of Bradbourne Vale Road wish to make any comments, will they please complete the attached form.
Consultation Draft, September 2003
Bradbourne Vale Road
(“BVR”) is a 1 mile stretch of the A25 that runs through Sevenoaks.
At present BVR has a speed limit of 40mph.
The Bradbourne Park Residents’ Association has
identified the following problems with the current situation:
This results in the following dangers to pedestrians and other road users in particular:
In addition,
it is generally recognised that the noise and pollution created by a vehicle
increase with speed.
Noise
pollution is a serious problem for houses along the BVR.
Bradbourne Park Residents’ Association calls on
Sevenoaks District Council to take immediate measures to:
1)
Reduce the speed limit on BVR to 30mph
2) Install speed cameras where appropriate
3) Build four islands topped with illuminated bollards in the hatched areas
In 1996 Bradbourne Park Residents’ Association
submitted a Report to Sevenoaks District Council (“SDC”) calling for the
installation of islands and bollards on the BVR.
Although the Report was universally welcomed and SDC committed to its
implementation, no islands or bollards were ever installed.
Instead an area in the centre of the BVR was cross-hatched to prevent
faster traffic overtaking. This measure has proved wholly ineffective.
BVR is about
1 mile long and forms part of the A25 trunk road through Sevenoaks.
Orientation is almost east to west between Bat and Ball in the east and
Riverhead roundabout in the west. In
1991 traffic flow on the BVR was in the order of 15,000 vehicles per day in both
directions with peak hour loading of 2750 vehicles.[1]
This is likely to have increased significantly in the last 10 years.
The BVR
initially runs level from Bat and Ball before climbing a short gradient over a
railway line in the vicinity of Bradbourne Road and Sevenoaks County Primary
School, past Bradbourne School. It
then descends into a long right-hand bend past Bradbourne Riding School and the
Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve. Once
past the intersection with Lambarde Road the road runs past Bradbourne Lakes
Park into another sweeping curve to the left which opens on the final approach
to the junction with Robyns Way. From
there it continues along a very long shallow left-hand curve to the junction
with Betenson Road and Riverhead past the Scout Hut. In the past BVR was subject to a widening scheme in the
vicinity of the Wildfowl Reserve and Riding School to facilitate the access of
large lorries to what was then a quarry owned by Redland (Lafarge).
This widening was never reversed when the Redland quarry was transformed
into the Wildfowl Reserve.
For traffic travelling east using the A25, the dual carriageway section of BVR leading to Bat and Ball is the first wide section for around 2 miles after Bessels Green where slower moving vehicles can be overtaken. This section is characterised by very high speeds.
[1] Source: Sevenoaks Council ‘Riverhead, Sevenoaks Traffic Parking Report’ 1991
In 1996 Bradbourne Park Residents’ Association submitted a report to Sevenoaks District Council (“SDC”) calling for the installation of four traffic islands on the BVR. Although the report was universally welcomed and SDC committed to its implementation, no islands or bollards were ever installed. Instead an area in the centre of the BVR was cross-hatched to prevent overtaking faster traffic overtaking.
The idea behind this measure was to maintain a procession
of traffic whereby those drivers observing the speed limit regulate the speed of
those who travel faster. In order
to be effective, any opportunity of drivers to overtake would have had to
have been be removed through physical traffic islands and illuminated
bollards. The current area of
cross-hatching (especially in the widened area) does not prevent illegal
overtaking especially by motorbikes. Illegal
overtaking puts such vehicles into dangerous conflict with pedestrians who use
the hatched area as a safe-harbour when crossing the road and local traffic
waiting for an opportunity to turn into or out of side-roads.
The failure by SDC to install islands or bollards has
meant that the existing traffic-calming measures have been wholly ineffective.
The current speed limit on the BVR is 40mph.
There is no coherent government guidance on appropriate speed limits.
The House of Commons Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and
the Regions in its Ninth Report observed:
“69. Almost every
witness told us that our speed limits are a mess. Speed limits need to be lower
on many roads, and higher on others. The problems, which witnesses identified,
are that:
- drivers often do
not know what the speed limit is (as we have seen);
- speed limits are
often not appropriate for the road; and
- the system of road
classification is out of date.
The failure to set
and enforce the right speed limits is a major factor in deaths and injuries, and
in particular in the high pedestrian casualty rate in urban areas. […]
74. According to a
significant number of witnesses there are four main types of road which are
wrongly classified or where existing speed limits are unsatisfactory. They are
those in some villages, in country lanes, on single carriageway A and B roads,
and in urban areas. The key issues raised by witnesses in the inquiry were
whether the speed limit:
- on urban
residential roads should be 20 or 30 mph
- should be a 20 mph
limit outside schools
- in villages should
be 30 mph […]”
The report goes on to recommend lower speed limits
particularly in the vicinity of schools and parks:
"85.
Because of the high child pedestrian casualty rates, and the effect of speed on
children's mobility and quality of life, a number of witnesses including the
Traffic and Children Coalition, called for "well-enforced 20 mph speed
limits around all schools and parks" as "an important part in
redressing the balance in favour of children on our streets".[146]
It would not only reduce the danger to children but also make it easier for them
to cycle to school as many wish. We recommend that guidance to local
authorities indicate that a 20 mph limit should be the norm in the vicinity of
schools in urban and rural areas during the day on weekdays, though they should
have the ability to vary the limits at other times."
The government’s Guidance
on Full Local Transport Plans (DETR, 2000d, para 186) repeats this call for
local authorities to take action on speed management:
"local
safety strategies should include speed management to achieve safe vehicle speeds
on all roads and ensure that the speed limits set are appropriate, consistent
and enforceable (agreed with the police), especially where children are
about. Traffic calming measures should be employed to encourage both speed
reduction and compliance with limits... Self-enforcing 20mph zones have proved
very effective at reducing both the likelihood and severity of accidents."
(emphasis added)
The BVR runs past two schools (Sevenoaks County Primary
School and Bradbourne School), two
parks (Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve and Bradbourne Lakes Park) as well as a riding
school and a Scout Hut. Despite the
existence of an underpass by Bradbourne School many children still cross BVR on
a daily basis. Local residents have
to cross the road on foot to reach Sevenoaks station or one of the local parks.
Local residents also have to pull out on the BVR from their driveways and
local roads.
The current speed limit of 40mph makes it very difficult
to cross the road during the day and almost impossible at night.
In addition, the speeding traffic poses a serious risk to cars having to
pull out of Lambarde Road, Robyns Way and local driveways (e.g. Bradbourne
Farmhouse). The curves in the road
seriously impair visibility on both sides.
Annex 1 contains pictures showing the impaired visibility
from a number of points along the course of the BVR. The reduced visibility greatly increases the risk to drivers
and pedestrians.
Bradbourne Park Residents’ Association believes that
flow of cars travelling at 50mph (40mph plus 10mph in excess of the limit)
currently pose a serious risk to pedestrians and drivers. At night and at weekends some vehicles (especially
motorbikes) travel well in excess of 70mph.
