Petition - To extend the Alton Town Centre 20mph zone

Thank you for your email, but I must correct your assertion that our approach to this, and indeed similar requests to change traffic regulations whether they be speed limits, parking measures or other forms of traffic control, does not give appropriate regard to safety. In fact our approach is firmly rooted in our aim to reduce the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads. This is our priority when considering where we make changes. In making casualty reduction our priority, other measures that do not directly support this outcome are a lower priority. Of course limited funding necessitates difficult decisions, particularly when responding to a local community’s request for specific measures as is the case here, but it would not be appropriate to divert resources (staff and funding) from locations where injury collisions are occurring now to other locations where intrusive traffic maybe unwelcome but is not giving rise to casualties. This is especially the case where the specific measures requested would likely have minimal impact on the reported concern.

The County Council aims to improve road safety through an evidence-led and proactive programme of casualty reduction measures and road safety education and training specifically aimed at preventing vulnerable road users being involved in collisions. At the same time, our highways maintenance teams prioritise the repair of safety defects to keep our network safe. I recognise that a community may desire improvements for other reasons and I am pleased that our community funded initiative is allowing the County Council to work with local community representatives to deliver appropriate measures that would otherwise not be a priority for funding. It is our intension to continue to develop this opportunity. In this way I believe that our approach gives both an appropriate priority to road safety and reflects the desired community-oriented decision-making you refer to, as well as allowing the County Council to balance its budget.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Rob Humby

Deputy Leader

Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment