The Chichester & Arun Green Party is encouraging local residents to join it in demanding the transformation of the A27 around Chichester into a safer, smoother, smarter road. This could involve investigating the use of traffic lights at the roundabouts, managing speed and introducing smart technologies that are proven to reduce congestion by a more efficient use of road space. The aim is to safeguard existing and future residents from noise and pollution, and to reduce crashes resulting in injuries and death.
Sarah Sharp – County, District and City Councillor for Chichester South – who has compiled a detailed report on the options says:
“The speed on the A27 has long been of concern to residents. The speed limit is currently set at 70mph but there are five junctions to negotiate around the city. I believe a speed limit reduction from 70mph to 50mph would smooth the flow of traffic, and improve quality of life for residents while not delaying motorists. Counterintuitively, such limits don’t add substantially to the end-to-end travel time precisely because the traffic flows more smoothly.”
This kind of traffic-smoothing approach is already in operation on trunk roads around UK cities with geography not dissimilar to Chichester, such as Salisbury, Guildford and Bristol. Faster limits are set in the countryside on either side of the city, and lower ones for a short stretch skirting the city. Driving at slower speeds (at or near the engine’s optimal design speed) and driving more smoothly – instead of stop start – reduces fuel consumption and pollution, beneficial in light of the cost-of-living and climate crises.
Cllr Sharp has launched a petition calling on the A27 National Highways team to carry out a full viability study into a smooth speed limit around Chichester (limiting speed dependent on traffic conditions and avoiding excessive speeds). Residents can sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/chichester-a27-a-safer-smoother-smarter-road
Revising speed limits would certainly address problems surrounding the new exit from the Shopwyke Lakes development, which is proving to be a particular concern to residents, as Cllr Sharp explains:
“This exit serves not only the new residents but also the residents of Oving Parish as their main access to Chichester. As councillors have been made aware, it is proving to be a tricky junction to manoeuvre through, particularly for vehicles that need to cross lanes in a very short distance. Currently drivers joining the A27 here are often forced by other traffic to make their manoeuvre at high speed. Reducing the speed here would reduce the safety risks involved.”
Cllr Sharp acknowledges the frustration of drivers stuck in traffic that might be opposed to the idea but concluded: “Traffic lights that can manage flows with the help of AI can help to smooth the traffic and help to move more vehicles through junctions more safely and reduce waiting times and queues. We are asking National Highways to look into this and run a feasibility study to provide residents with more evidence of whether this concept would make things better and actually cut back on time wasted in queues.”