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A24 Speed Limit
The Valley is a community. But first and foremost it is exclusively a residential area. Its misfortune is to be bisected by the A24 (as CH thinks of it) - or the Findon Road (as we do.)
As a residential road and in accordance with the Highways Act, it should be subject to a “30” limit. But it remains at “40”.
And why?
Well, and according to CH's statistics, it’s a “very safe bit of road”. This is because we have had (only!) two fatalities in the past two years. We have had also another “serious”, a cyclist and 21 “minor” casualties. It is interesting to note here that to be classified as “a fatal casualty”, the victim has to die within 31 days. If they survive this period, they become classified as “serious”.
As can be seen from the impressive new(ish) signs at Offington Corner and the Findon roundabout, this stretch of Findon Road is part of the “A24 Route Management Scheme”. (Referred to, incidentally, by CH in their correspondence as “A24 Speed Route Management Scheme”.)
We think that CH has done a good job so far in its management of A24 northwards from the Borough boundary at Storrington Rise/Bost Hill. We also think that “Speed Route Management” should terminate here, with Highways Acts’ residential requirements replacing it southwards. The next aspect of our campaign will seek to get the Offington Corner sign moved to the bottom of Bost Hill. The manager responsible for the scheme is Roger Hobbs. “We live here, Mr. Hobbs. You do not.”
County Highways’ officers are like all good local government officers. They will (eventually) respond to sources of pressure. (“The squeakiest axle gets the most grease”.) Here at FVS, we have no problem with that. So, please, get writing or phoning
Ironically...
…the fact is that traffic speeds down Findon Road at 40 mph (or faster, too frequently) are an additional cause of congestion at Offington Corner. If the southbound traffic moved at 30 mph, the tails-back would be shorter!
Meanwhile, and as a result of the consistent pressure we have been bringing to bear on this issue, the good news is that CH is now prepared at least to consider reducing the speed limit to “30”.
Click Here to see current accident data for the A24 Findon Valley for a 3 year period up until 30 June 2005. Please note that the data for 2005 has yet to be reconciled against the Police data, and may be incomplete. File is in pdf format, click here to download Adobe Acrobat.