The last 4 years have seen a pilot scheme of 20mph zones in operation outside 4 schools in the borough which have been enforceable under a temporary TRO (Traffic Regulation Order)

A recommendation was brought before the Local Committee this week to make these zones permanent which would require an application for a new TRO which would cost about £2000.

Although the restrictions have had limited effect, the recommendation was that reverting these zones to 30mph would send the wrong message to drivers, would be unpopular with parents, and there would be a higher cost associated with removing the 20mph signage.

However, I was surprised to see that there was a lot of antagonism towards these 20mph limits and only 4 members of the committee, myself included, were in favour of making the restrictions permanent.

The majority took the view that there was no urgency in making a decision, in spite of the fact that doing nothing means that cars can now legally travel at 60mph in these zones as there is no TRO in place to enforce any limit at all.

I will continue to campaign for 20mph limits outside all schools, with traffic calming measures where signage alone does not deter speeding.

Want to know if your road will be resurfaced in the near future? Highways have provided me with lists of roads prioritised for “Major Maintenance” and ”Surface Treatment” in 2010.

I have been told that if the budget remains unchanged next year, roads ranked up to number 52 on the “Major Maintenance” list and 129 on the “Surface Treatment” list should be addressed.

In Reigate Central Division, the placings are as follows. You can see that there may be major work on 2 roads, and surface treatment on none!

Major Maintenance

12 - Linkfield Street
34 - St Marys Road
90 - Sandpit Road
109 - Evesham Road
116 - Whitepost Hill
129 - Chart Lane
141 - Park Lane East
293 - Blanford Road
307 - Hornbeam Road
470 - Howard Road
554 - Blackborough/Lesbourne

Outside Reigate Central but of interest locally it looks like Daneshill (3), Carlton Road (16) and possibly Earlsbrook Road (64) and Birkheads Road (69) could be fixed!

Surface Treatment

154 - Reigate Road (Flanchford Road to Buckland)
181 - Park Lane

Having spent the last few years talking about and being photographed next to those dreaded potholes, as a Councillor my job is to do something about them. I have arranged a “walkabout” with Terry, one of the Local Highways Officers, to discuss issues that have been raised by residents, and to find out about the ongoing maintenance and improvement program.

Councillors are often the first port of call for residents and we often know about problems before the Highways department is aware of them, so this is a great opportunity not only to visit the sites of any problems I know about, but also to learn of other issues, with the added benefit of instant feedback and professional opinion.

This is a very productive morning and I now have much better understanding of how works are prioritised, from which of the various available pots of money different types of works are funded, and of the considerable budgetary constraints under which the department operates.

Although lack of finance is not the only reason for the poor state of our roads, it is clear that a substantial increase in funding is needed to bring them up to scratch.

Please feel free to let me know of any problems either using the “Report a Problem” link on this site or by phone.

Alternatively you can use the Council’s online reporting website to report issues directly.