CONCERNS have been raised over plans to extend the current 20mph speed limit on Charlton Road in Keynsham.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has proposed extending the limit for 396 metres to the west of the existing 20mph zone.
But Alan Hale, Independent councillor for Keynsham South, has told the council he believes the proposal will not improve road safety.
Cllr Hale is an academy member of Road Safety GB, former senior road safety officer for South Gloucestershire Council, and has chaired the West of England Road Safety Partnership.
He also has 20 years’ experience of police road patrols as an advanced class 1 driver and as a qualified advanced police driving instructor. He is currently a driving examiner for IAMRoadSmart.
Cllr Hale said: “Currently, the length of Charlton Road from High Street through to just south of Charlton Park junction is subject to a 20mph speed limit.
“Any observation or measurement will, I am sure, show that very few motorists drive at no more than 20mph, and many are in excess of the old 30mph. However, on this stretch, such a limit is justified due to the very narrow road width and the inferior and narrow pavements.
“When the school crossing is being patrolled near Kelston Road and the wig-wags are flashing to show a 20 limit, observance is sporadic despite the presence of the crossing patrol and the schools.
“It might be better to extend a full-time 20mph limit from the end of the existing limit through to the junction with Lockingwell Road. This would cover the school and the nursery.”
But he said a 20mph limit beyond that junction would achieve little, as drivers frequently exceed the current 30mph limit. Reducing the limit would just lead to further abuse, and drivers trying to stick to a 20mph limit would be subject to road rage and dangerous overtaking.
Cllr Hale added: “The fact that Avon and Somerset Police have virtually no road motor patrol capability means that the limit will be abused on the basis that being caught is highly unlikely. Equally the speed detection team are extremely thinly spread.”
He said it would be better to install a significant number of ‘build-outs’ causing traffic to slow down and give way to traffic coming the other way.
The council has also proposed cutting the de-restricted speed limit on Charlton Road, Woollard Lane, and Redlynch Lane to 40mph. Cllr Hale said he supported this proposal.
Councillor Duncan Hounsell (Saltford, Liberal Democrat), who said he backed the council’s proposals in the interest of safety for all, added: “The junction of Redlynch Lane with Charlton Road is a notoriously difficult junction to navigate safely because of poor sight lines.
“The junction opposite is similarly dangerous, and that junction is the only significant way in and out of Queen Charlton village. There have been vehicular accidents on Charlton Road near this location and have been attributed at least in part to excessive speed.
“The proposal to reduce the speed limit on Redlynch Lane is welcomed but I wonder if that speed limit could be further reduced to 30mph in this rural lane.”
The council’s consultation on the proposals closed last month.
Pictured, the current 20mph limit along Charlton Road from High Street turns to 30mph just south of the junction with Charlton Park
Road rage fears over 20mph extension bid in Keynsham
