Fears for safety of pedestrians

Councillor Monica Weller thought enough was enough.

Since SES roadworks to upgrade the water network started on 15 August 2023, and Lower Road in Bookham was closed to passing traffic between Kennel Lane and Keswick Road, many motorists seem to be treating cut-throughs as racetracks.

Cllr Weller (Bookham West) wrote on Surrey County Council’s ‘Tell Us About a Highway Issue’ online: “There is a high risk of a serious accident. I am extremely concerned about the increase in traffic levels. I fear for the safety of pedestrians including children who regularly walk on the pavements of the diversionary route in Keswick Road, Durleston Park Drive and Eastwick Road”.

She says some drivers using these three roads are driving so fast they may not be able to stop in an emergency through “a slalom of parked vehicles”.

The roadworks will be continuing until early December 2023.

Cllr Weller therefore asked SCC to take this matter seriously and install SLOW DOWN signage on the roadside of the three roads during the Lower Road roadworks.

SCC Streetworks Officer told Cllr Weller that SCC was having issues with the Traffic Management company “not complying with requests in a timely manner” and immediately requested extra signage to be placed in the appropriate roads to reduce the problem.

The next day SLOW DOWN signs appeared in two of three roads affected by the increase in speeding traffic in the diversion, but not in Eastwick Road which is narrow in places and does not have the safety of pavements.

Cllr Weller works all year round for the community and will continue her engagement with SCC to reduce the risk of a serious accident resulting from the Lower Road closure and will push for SLOW DOWN signs in Eastwick Road.

Before the Lower Road roadworks began, SCC stated Lower Road was not a traffic sensitive road. Cllr Weller said it may not be traffic sensitive, but she will press SCC for a more coordinated approach with utility companies about the diversion route, where a low category road does not have enough capacity to cope with the extra volume of traffic.