Ferring's speed limit row

With the exception of the main roads and a few others, most of the roads are private, owned by the residents who pay for the maintenance of the roads to a high standard through the excellent Roads Scheme Association.

These roads are generally fairly narrow and have no footpaths with the exception of a few short pieces in the South Ferring shops area, so pedestrians of all ages from young families, mothers with push chairs to old people on crutches, in wheel chairs and on mobility scooters have to share the roads with cars and vans and trucks.

If vehicles are parked, this means that pedestrians have to walk round them in the middle of the road in the face of on-coming traffic.

For safety reasons, there has always been a 20mph on these roads albeit unofficial agreed by and observed by a majority of members through the Roads Association and also observed by the majority of visitors.

This has now been overturned by the Ferring Village Council who have decreed that the limit should be 30mph in line with the rest of the village, a result they say that they have worked for for a long time and that the 20mph must be removed.

The question is why? If we asked the council for any help or contribution to a roads scheme, they would say ‘your private roads are nothing to do with us’.

If you go to Brighton you will see major through routes with wide footpaths, purpose-built cycle lanes, dedicated parking areas on both sides of the road, street lighting and roads still wide enough for trucks and buses to pass each other, and they have 20mph speed limits.

Our private roads with none of these safety features have had our 20mph limit removed against our wishes and increased by 50 per cent which is no help or benefit to anyone, and this has a unique feature of our lovely village.

John Ditchfield

Cissbury Road

Ferring

EDITOR’S NOTE: An article on Ferring’s speed limits was published in the March 17 issue of the Herald. The speed limits were, in fact, changed after a WSCC, not Ferring Parish Council, decision. The limits were at that time unenforceable due to the lack of necessary signage.

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