Allow me to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy New Year!
Residents in Low-er Sunbury and Halliford can look forward to having safer local streets as Surrey County Council takes a step towards creating a safer street programme in our community. This initiative aims to enhance the local streetscape, prioritising people over vehicles and fostering a more sustainable and pleasant living environment.
Local Street Improvements represent a para-digm shift in urban planning, focusing on rebalancing road usage, reducing traffic speeds, and creating safer spaces for walking and cycling. The core objectives of the Local Street Improvements programme align seam-lessly with Surrey County Council’s broader goals, including achieving net-zero carbon emissions, sustainable growth, well-connected communities, and promoting clean air for an excellent quality of life.
Lower Sunbury and Halliford have been iden-tified as potential areas for Local Street Im-provements, marking a pivotal moment for our community. This designation promises numerous benefits, encompassing health, well-being, community cohesion, safety, econo-my, and environmental sustainability.
To address specific local challenges, the Lo-cal Street Improvements Programme is set to implement a range of interventions. These include sustainable drainage systems, traffic calming features, increased greenery, support-ive infrastructure like benches and cycle park-ing, redesigned side road junctions, and the introduction of parklets. These measures aim to create a more pedestrian-friendly, accessi-ble, and environmentally conscious neigh-bourhood.
The first tranche of the Local Street Improve-ments Programme, spanning ten years, has already been launched, comprising 33 areas across Elmbridge, Runnymede, Spelthorne, and Woking. Spelthorne includes nine poten-tial areas, with Lower Sunbury being a key focus. This programme represents a concerted effort to address local concerns and enhance the overall quality of life for residents.
In Lower Sunbury, the Local Street Improve-ments will specifically look at concerns such as rat running to avoid Sunbury Cross during peak times. Many vehicles currently navigate through Lower Sunbury to bypass congestion, posing risks to residents and school-goers. Surrey County Council aims to mitigate this and is exploring what kind of initiatives resi-dents might like to see.
Road safety is also a paramount concern, with the last five years seeing 19 cyclist incidents (7 serious), 11 pedestrian incidents (2 seri-ous), and 15 child casualties (4 serious). These incidents, often occurring near schools and on rat runs during peak hours, underscore the urgent need for intervention. Additionally, the initiative will tackle poor air quality in the Spelthorne Air Quality Management Area by promoting walking and cycling, reducing car miles, and consequently lowering emissions.
To ensure that the Local Street Improvements reflect the needs and desires of the local com-munity, Surrey County Council has actively engaged with local stakeholders. Two en-gagement events have already taken place at Sunbury Adult Learning Centre in October 2023, with more scheduled for early 2024 specifically for Lower Sunbury residents. To facilitate ongoing dialogue, as your county councillor, I request residents to sign up for email updates through the dedicated platform at https://lowersunbury.commonplace.is/ and attend the future resident engagement events. The dates of these will be announced by SCC in the new year.
Buddhi Weerasinghe County Councillor
Lower Sunbury and Halliford