Update: The Cabinet Member for Communities and Safety will consider the petition to reduce traffic accidents on the B2100 at a meeting tomorrow (25th March 2021).
The speed limit on stretch of road between Rotherfield and Jarvis Brook is currently 60 mph. Implementing a 40 mph speed limit is not a priority for the County Council at the current time, and the report states the location does not meet the criteria for a speed camera, vehicle activated signs nor crash barriers. Officer’s will however review the existing signage and investigate the provision of hazard marker posts on the bend. Police are still investigating the fatal crash that occurred on 26th September.
The meeting of the Lead Member for Communities and Safety takes place at 2pm on Thursday 25th March 2021 and can be watched via webcast.
A petition is calling upon East Sussex Council Council to reduce the speed limit along the B2100 between Crowborough and Rotherfield.
The petition argues, with bends and accesses (driveways & farm gates), and no footway, the speed limit on the hill should be reduced to 40mph.
Currently most of the road is covered by the national speed limit of 60mph (for cars and motorcycles), which runs from just before the Palesgate Lane to the outskirts of the village, just prior to the laybys.
Section 7 of the Department for Transport Circular 01/2013 gives guidance to highway authorities on setting speed limits on rural single carriageway roads:
Last month there was a fatality at the bottom of the hill, when a 21 year-old driver died when his car left the carriageway and hit a tree. The petition on change.org shows a map indicating collisions along the stretch of road in the last 20 years and the severity of the injuries sustained. This information can be viewed on www.crashmap.co.uk.
On 22nd September, Rotherfield Parish Council’s Highways, Lighting and Transport Committee discussed concerns about speed on the road. A resident addressed the meeting and spoke about a collision when they were emerging on to the B2100 from their drive and their vehicle was hit by a fast moving van.
Chairman of the Committee, Cllr James Kitchenham said:
As far as Rotherfield Parish Council is concerned, we totally support the efforts of the petitioners to get the speed limit lowered on the B2100 between Rotherfield and Jarvis Brook and any other Initiatives to make the road safer for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.
The Parish Council’s speed monitoring device was placed near the location of a collision in July. Although the vast majority of drivers abide by the current 60 mph limit (99.7%), there were 300 instances of speeds over 60mph over a five week period.
A report by Dr Kempton summarises the speed monitoring data. The proportion of drivers recorded at under 40 mph was 64% towards Crowborough and 57% towards Rotherfield. The highest maximum speed recorded was 88mph.
The petition calls for a reduction in the speed limit, improvements to enforce the proposed limit (either by a speed camera or a speed notification device), as well as other safety improvements. Petition to reduce road traffic accidents on the B2100 Church Road/ Rotherfield Road.
Readers might also be interested in this article from 2015 when the speed limit was reduced on the B2100 in Jarvis Brook: New 40mph zone proposed for Rotherfield Road.
