Are we going too fast?
The A3055 through Brading carries over thirteen thousand vehicles per day. The speed limit varies from 50 mph on Beaper Chute down to 20mph on Brading High Street. This leads to the odd situation that the major road, has a lower speed limit than most of the narrow side roads.
There are many closes and cul-de-sacs in Brading, most of which would benefit from a regime similar to “Living Streets” (Woonerven) in the Netherlands. These have been established to make life safer and quieter in areas away from the main road. They include shared space, traffic calming and low speed limits. Motorised traffic is restricted to about 10mph
In this country 'The Quiet Lanes and Home Zones (England) Regulations 2006 set out a system of consultation which must be gone through before establishing similar ’Home Zones’ and ‘Quiet Lanes’. Although probably well- intentioned, the consultations required are exhaustive, time-consuming and no doubt expensive. However separate rules from 1999 allow the setting of 20mph speed limits including part-time ones with less preamble.
The Council should investigate ways of consulting Islanders without employing overpaid consultants. They may even find that 20mph is too fast in some places. Surely home zones and quiet lanes can only improve road safety and contribute to a better quallity of life on our island.
John Graney Online.
Published by John Graney, Brading Town Councillor.
The views expressed here are all my own.
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