The Safer C7 Project team writes:
The recent serious accident near Southease has highlighted yet again the need for safety improvements on the C7. The Safer C7 Project raised the funds needed to commission Philip Jones Associates (PJA) to produce a detailed and costed design plan to reduce speed and improve safety on the C7. Public consultations on their draft proposals, were held in July, and the draft plans have been published on the Safer C7 Project website. Since then, the proposals have been refined and there have been some preliminary discussions with ESCC and the South Downs National Park. The measures are being prioritised for a phased implementation. Outline CAD designs and associated costings are currently being produced.
ESCC and the police require any reduction in speed limits to be self-enforcing. The plans therefore focus on measures that will induce drivers to drive more slowly, as the basis for a proposed reduction in the speed limit to 30mph along most of the C7.
The villages and other settlements along the C7 are located out of sight of drivers passing through, and there are poor sight lines at junctions. Several footpaths, including the South Downs Way, as well as cycle paths, cross the C7, and many of the bus stops are hard for pedestrians to reach safely. Two schools are located within 50 mph zones.
To increase drivers’ awareness of the villages and settlements located along the C7, PJA have therefore proposed new village ‘gateways’, improved access to bus stops, and a series of new or improved crossing points. They propose that some footways along the roadside should be improved. To physically reduce traffic speed, there would be priority working points on the approaches to Northease from the north, and to Rodmell from the south. Some junctions would be remodelled, such as the junction with Wellgreen Lane by the garden centre and in Rodmell.
Phase 7 of the Egrets Way Project, between Deans Farm and the northern junction of Piddinghoe, entails a stretch of cycleway alongside the C7 and this will form part of the overall design plan for the safer C7.
The plans will form the focus of a meeting of the Safer C7 Project Advisory group in February. This important group includes representatives of all the parishes along the C7, as well as Lewes District and Town Councils, ESCC and the SDNPA.
The plans can be viewed on the project website. www.thec7road.co.uk/safer-c7-project
