Plans to reduce the speed limit on a stretch of the A507 through Central Bedfordshire are set to go ahead, despite calls for the limit to be lowered further.
A section of the road between Warren Lane and Beadlow Golf Club will be cut from 60mph to 50mph.
The A507 links Ridgemont and Stotfold, with the new limit to apply on part of the route between Clophill and Chicksands.
“This part is single carriageway road and currently subject to the national speed limit, according to a Central Bedfordshire Council traffic management meeting report.
Bedfordshire Police have records of one fatal, five serious injury and two slight injury accidents during the last three years along this section of the A507, said the report. “Damage only accidents aren’t recorded.”
Safety measures in place already include double white lines, rumble strips each side of The Causeway junction at Clophill, right turn filter lanes and hatching, and bend warning signage near Eagle Bends.
Improvements not subject to statutory consultation which form part of the scheme are:
- bollards on the verge to highlight junctions and Beadlow Manor access;
- extra ‘Think bike’ signs;
- maximum speed 40mph sub plate, instead of 50mph, to complement bend warning signage at Eagle Bends;
- yellow backed chevrons on the bends near Warren Lane;
- and to refresh SLOW road markings and rumble strips.
CBC was asked to prioritise the road for extra investment, as this project is unlikely to receive central funding. Conservative Ampthill councillor Paul Duckett proposed a motion to the local authority, which was referred to the council’s traffic management meeting as a sub-committee of the executive.
Councillor Duckett asked that: “This council recognises the inherent dangers posed by the A507 between Shefford and Millbrook.
“In light of a recent tragic fatality, as well as numerous accidents, the local authority agrees to work towards resolving the issue at black spots, such as Warren Lane and the Causeway at Clophill, Pine View Park in Maulden, and Station Road in Ampthill.”
An A507 route study has begun focusing on analysis of the major roundabout junctions on the section between the A6 at Clophill and the A1 at Baldock, added the report.
“The work focuses on the hotspots flagged as part of the Local Plan strategic modelling work.
“The A507 also provides access to the A6 and other local A-roads including: the A421 via junction 13 of the M1, the A5120 between Ampthill and Flitwick, the A600 west of Shefford, and the A6001 south of Henlow.”
There were 16 representations to a public consultation period, with some of the opponents to the council’s proposals calling for the 50mph restriction to be reduced to 40mph.
Other comments included extending the 50mph limit west from The Causeway/A6, installing speed cameras, and a need for street lighting.
There was also criticism of the condition of the road surface, with sharp kerb edges in places, issues with mud on the road, and replacement of speed indication devices which are beyond their life cycle, explained the report.
Conservative Arlesey Councillor Ian Dalgarno, who chairs the meeting, agreed the highways officers recommended improvements, including extending a 50mph limit on a section of Warren Lane linking to the A507 near Clophill.
