Making Piddinghoe Safer for All: A Community Proposal
Residents of the local village of Piddinghoe are pushing for a 30mph speed limit through the village’s ‘pinch point’ on the busy C7 Road and to pave a path to improve safety and accessibility for walkers, horse riders and cyclists. And they’re asking for everyone’s support, as campaigner Diana Stevenson explains.
Piddinghoe, a village in East Sussex, where the C7 road passes through a narrow “pinch point” between two sections of the village. Residents have identified a path on the ‘kiln’ side of the road that could be paved to accommodate mobility vehicles and pedestrians. To support this (and road safety generally) we are asking for traffic speeds to be reduced to 30mph along this stretch.
Our proposal aims to:
- improve safety for walkers and cyclists
- minimize wildlife environmental impact
- avoid costly and disruptive construction.
The path is 1.7-1.8 meters wide in most sections and, with minor adjustments, could also accommodate mobility vehicles. What’s more, thishe proposal avoids major construction and disruption – unlike alternative plans for the Egret’s Way cycle path, which would cost £1.5 million and involve significant changes to the road and surrounding area.
However, East Sussex Highways will not guarantee that there will be any speed reduction to accommodate these alternative cycle path proposals. Locals are worried that this will make a very bad situation even more dangerous, increasing the risk that people who do not know the road may be injured or even killed.
We are particularly concerned about safety, given the current 50mph speed limit with some cars driving at 60mph and more. Speed reduction has been a decades-long desired outcome on this stretch of Piddinghoe among residents and visitors alike.
There are alternative cycle route plans along the nearby Egret’s Way. However, these would involve geological surveys, road re-alignment and narrowing, and moving power poles and cables. The plans would also require destruction of hedgerows from the north-bound bus stop, the use of coloured tarmac, and street lighting that would affect wildlife, the environment, private gardens and the Dark Skies of the National Park.
East Sussex Highways have always maintained that the C7 is a strategic route when the A26 is closed. A26 closure happens rarely. In any case, traffic could still go at 30mph through this short section of road on those rare occasions.
Finally, some residents also feel the vast amount of money to extend the Egret’s Way Cycle Path could be better spent on flood mitigation in Piddinghoe. Existing sections of the Egret’s Way Cycle Path have been underwater when the River Ouse overtopped its banks last winter. The surface specification was not built to withstand flooding and some washed away sections had to be replaced two years after completion.
To support the Piddinghoe campaign, you can:
- Contact East Sussex Highways to express support for a 30mph speed limit at the Piddinghoe ‘pinchpoint’
- Reach out to local representatives or councillors
- Share info about our proposal with others in your area.