50mph speed limit would be much more preferable for A2300 carriageway

Well done to the year 6 boy who called for a climate emergency in West Sussex.

It would be fantastic if West Sussex County Council (WSCC) does more than just talk about how to combat climate change in the county.

The West Sussex Transport Plan 2011-2026, states that ‘vehicle use is one of the largest contributors to emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2008, a total of 1,573 Kt of carbon dioxide were emitted from the road transport sector within West Sussex’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Research has shown that vehicle emissions can be significantly reduced by travelling at a slower speed and avoiding rapid acceleration and deceleration.

Why then is WSCC increasing the speed limit from 60mph to 70mph on the proposed A2300 dual carriageway? This is a short stretch of road (1.8 miles) that will be intersected by two roundabouts.

Anyone reaching 70mph will need to rapidly accelerate and decelerate to achieve an estimated gain in journey of 20 seconds if travelling at 70mph rather than 50mph.

Wouldn’t it be better to lower the speed limit to 50mph on this short stretch of road? Is the impact of 70mph on climate change really worth the 20 second gain in journey time?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We have been led to believe by WSCC that Sussex Police would not support a speed limit of 50mph on the A2300 as such measures would not be self enforcing. However, on other roads with speed limits, such as the A24, speed cameras are in use which both act as a deterrent and enforce the speed limit.

Apparently WSCC transport policy is to impose national speed limits (ie 70mph on a dual carriageway and 60mph on all other roads outside built-up areas) unless there is sufficient justification to impose a lower limit.

Given the council’s stated commitment to urgently address the issues of climate change, does this not provide sufficient justification and indeed an opportunity for the council to puts its words into action?

Imposing a 50mph speed limit on the A2300 would significantly contribute to the reduction of emissions on this heavily used road.

Jo Kyndt

Jobs Lane,

Goddards Green,

Hassocks