Traffic Calming: Analysis

Problems to do with speeding traffic, volume of traffic and parking have been a common concern to residents of Charlwood and Hookwood for a number of years. And the situation is getting worse.

It was for that reason that Charlwood Parish Council undertook a public consultation in 2019 to find out what were the real issues as identified by parishioners and what in their opinion were the best ways to tackle the problem.

CPC commissioned a highways and transport consultancy, 2020 Consultancy, to undertake a feasibility study and to analyse the results. Their detailed report can be viewed by clicking on the file at the foot of the page.

In summary, these are the main points to emerge from the Charlwood consultation:

• 120 respondents completed the questionnaire, showing that a high proportion of the village were engaged with the process
• 93% of respondents believe there is an issue with road safety in the village showing the importance of implementing new measures to tackle the matter
• The problem areas were identified as: Speed of traffic through the village; Turning right from Ifield Road onto The Street and lack of visibility; Speed of traffic along The Street; HGV’s through the village; Lack of safe crossing along The Street; Excessive traffic travelling through the village; Visibility at the junction of Rectory Lane/Norwood Lane
• Of the six possible road safety interventions, most support was shown for a formal pedestrian crossing along The Street – 32% of respondents chose this as their first choice and 27% of respondents as their second choice
• Improvements at the junction of Ifield Road and The Street was the second most favoured option with 21% selecting it as their first choice and 12% as second choice
• There was little difference however between the choices ranked second, third (Vehicle Activated Signs) and fourth (7.5 ton weight restriction)
• The least popular road safety intervention selected by respondents was the traffic calming measures within the centre of the village requiring street lighting. Only 10% of respondents put this in first place while 24% ranked it in sixth place    

The situation in Hookwood was not so easy to analyse but these were the conclusions of the 2020 Consultancy:

• 97% believe there is a road safety problem in Hookwood, 3% unsure
• 97% stakeholders support road safety interventions in Hookwood; 3% maybe
• Common locations where stakeholders believe there are issues include: Reigate Road and junction
       with Charlwood Road; Speed throughout the village; Mill Lane junction; Povey Cross Road
• Popular interventions include: Vehicle Activated Signs; Gateway treatments at 30mph terminals; 
       Extend 30mph speed limit into Charlwood Road
• Other interventions put forward by stakeholders included: Raised tables; Weight limit; 
       Parking restrictions around key areas such as junctions; Prevent vehicles travelling through
       Black Horse pub car park; Speed enforcement by Police