Petition - Reduce the speed limit on Kings Copse Avenue

Thank you for your petition to reduce the speed limit on Kings Copse Avenue to 30mph. I appreciate the concerns raised for road safety.

The County Council sets speed limits based on criteria from the Department for Transport, which considers a range of factors such as road character and function, density and level of fronting development, existing average speeds and the safety record. The guidelines emphasise that speed limits should be clear and naturally adhered to, reflecting the road’s layout and conditions. Effective speed limits depend on drivers’ reactions to various factors, especially those that visually encourage appropriate speeds and awareness of the environment.

Simply lowering a speed limit won’t necessarily slow traffic unless the environment supports the new limit and drivers respect it. Setting a speed limit too low without driver compliance offers no benefit to the local community. Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists judge their actions based on perceived vehicle speeds and the posted limits. In Hampshire, the Police carry out speed enforcement and deal with issues like inappropriate or anti-social driving. You can contact them via the 101 non-emergency number or their website at the following link: Report | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Our Traffic and Road Safety resources are targeted at casualty reduction with priority given to locations with patterns or clusters of treatable injury accidents. We have access to the Police database of all injury accidents reported in Hampshire and this is used to formulate our traffic and safety scheme programmes.

A study of the injury accident record for the existing section of 40mph speed limit along Kings Copse Avenue shows that there is no pattern or common causation to the accidents reported to the Police during the normal 5-year review period.

In these circumstances, when considering all these factors, there are no plans to review the current speed limit regime along this Kings Copse Avenue.

I recognise that you and local residents will be disappointed by this.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Passenger Transport