A dangerous crossing where a “tragic accident” left a person with an amputated foot will not have any immediate improvements after a safety petition was rejected. More than 300 people called on Surrey County Council to improve the A30 Egham bypass crossing near Hummer Road by lowering the speed limit to 40mph, installing average speed cameras, and a signalled pedestrian crossing at the main road.
Currently up to 5,000 cars whizz along the road each day over the 50mph speed limit, with people having to dodge between vehicles at their own risk in order to cross. Improving the crossing point would allow more people to reach historic sites such as the John F Kennedy memorial and Runnymede Fields, famous as the site where the Magna Carta was sealed, campaigners said.
The petition read: “Tens of thousands of cars travel along this road every day, of which more than five thousand exceed the 50mph speed limit every day. Hundreds of people use the unregulated crossing daily, including with dogs and bicycles, and there has recently been a tragic accident requiring a foot amputation.
“Push-chairs are virtually unknown at the crossing on account of the dangers to small children. We urge Surrey County Council to act as we have petitioned, to improve the safety of this crossing and hence to enable more people, including families, to access Runnymede Fields and Pleasure Grounds safely, to the benefit of their health and well-being.”
The petition was presented by Runnymede Borough Councillor, and ward member for Egham Town, Isabel Mullens. She said: “I understand very well that the average speed of vehicles along Egham bypass is less than 50mph, I've been told this many times.
“But more than 5,000 of them, 5,000 vehicles every day, exceed the speed limit and it’s these cars that I have referenced in my petition. 5,000 everyday, it doesn't matter that there are some going at 40 mph when there are some that go up to 85mph.”
For those trying to cross the dual carriageway, there is a fenced off section in the middle of the road where walkers can cross half way before tackling the opposite carriageway.
Campaigners were told there was no funding for a crossing, and that the council was not "legally permitted" to install traffic calming measures on the major road. Their best chance, the meeting heard, would be to wait until the outcome of next year's Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans referred to as LCWIPS. These are formal proposals that receive funding from Active Travel England with Runnymede expected to begin consultation into it next year, the meeting was told.
Councillor Marisa Heath, cabinet member for environment, said that she would speak with Surrey Police to see if more enforcement around the road could be carried out in the meantime.
She said: “We haven't had much police overview there and most of the people using that road use it on a regular basis and consider it is safe to go over that speed limit because people aren't being caught and issued with a ticket. As soon as you do that I think we will see some change in behaviour and we’ll go back to the the majority travelling at the speed that is allowed.”
As for introducing formal crossings, Cllr Heath added: “I'm not a highways engineer by any stretch, but putting a crossing on a road that is 40 or 50 mph is something that needs to be considered really carefully.”
Her concerns were supported by officers who added: “There are people that are going over 50mph, 5,000 I believe, and that just demonstrates that if we were to reduce the speed limit using signs alone we’d have little to no impact on those drivers. And unfortunately we’re not able to install traffic calming measures. The most effective measures to reduce people to reduce their speeds on a 40mph road, we’re not legally permitted to do it."
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