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A27 / Warren Road Safety Issues
Here we are dealing, remember, not with County Highways, but the Highways Agency.
All Valley parents of secondary school pupils must have concerns as to how their children cross the A27 with no protection whatsoever. (Unless, as do some, they take them by car – and for that reason!)
It is outrageous that a residential community (Offington/Durrington and the Valley) is bisected by a Trunk Route, with no protection for pedestrians and cyclists wishing to cross, for over two miles. (There are TWO Puffins at Swandean, then the pedestrian lights a bit to the east, and then …NOTHING … before Lyons Farm.
We were told in 2004 that there would be “lights at Grove Lodge”.
In the event, there are, but with no pedestrian function. Moreover, the lights do not control traffic exiting the roundabout.
At the Public Meeting called by Tim Loughton in February, HA officers were quizzed on this. “Well, pedestrians can get half way across…” was as far as one officer got before the rest of his reply was drowned by the meeting’s derisive laughter.
As a result of campaigning, HA are now actively considering locating a Puffin near the bottom of Warren Road.
One of CH’s dafter schemes was an intention to introduce a “No Entry” at Offington Lane/Offington Avenue, to force more vehicles onto an already overloaded A27. This would have included, of course, local people going about their local business.
Quite apart from the inconvenience aspect, there would have been serious road hazard implications. Local traffic, (including mothers returning from Vale School twice a day) would have started using Offington Drive in lieu. Doing so would have entailed making a right turn from Warren Road.
Thus CH would have replaced a safe left turn from a 30 limit road with a right turn across a 40 mph Trunk Route, with no protection, an utterly inadequate waiting lane, poor visibility and HGV’s (many left-hand drive) thundering past. An absolute recipe for disaster, you might think.
We made a number of attempts (four, in fact) to get CH to abandon this proposal. They would not listen.
However, and solely as direct result of our representations to Col Tex Pemberton, (Cabinet Member, WSCC,) we have managed to get the scheme postponed, at least until proper and appropriate data has been collected.
If this scheme ever looks like receiving approval, we will publish our (numerous!) arguments here and invite your support. (Or comments.)