The Safer C7 Project reports as follows:
Project consultants, Philip Jones Associates (PJA), are now completing their baseline assessment of the C7, and are in the process of formulating a longlist of recommendations, aiming to make the road safer for all its users.
The C7 is a corridor dominated by fast flowing traffic, where the settlements and landscape along the C7 are largely invisible to drivers. PJA’s focus is on measures which will reduce the speed of vehicles and on design strategies that will increase drivers’ awareness of the villages and other settlements along the C7. For example, they are proposing to make the many crossing points more visible to drivers, so that pedestrians can cross more easily between footpaths or toreach a bus stop.
Ultimately, these measures would rebalance the hierarchy of users, so that the needs of residents, pedestrians and cyclists are met, as well as those of drivers. An executive summary of the baseline report and information about the proposals will be available shortly.
PJA are in the process of refining their initial list of design strategies, in discussion with the project team. The proposals will be considered in terms of feasibility, cost, timescales and phasing, and discussed with East Sussex County Council and the South Downs National Park Authority. PJA will present their proposals to local ‘stakeholders’ and at community engagement sessions (details to be announced). Feedback from these events will be used to inform the next steps in refining the design strategies. Outline costings will be developed for all the measures, and fully costed designs will be developed for the first phase. The project team will then apply for the funding needed to begin implementation.
