CUTTING the speed limit in Reigate town centre could be the key to improving the environment – that is the suggestion of one resident, who says traffic hurtling through the High Street puts safety at risk, and makes it a no-go zone for cyclists.
Surrey County Council has agreed to revisit the notion of a pedestrianised High Street, but many are sceptical that project will ever work.
Instead, keen cyclist David Brown, of Warren Road, believes slashing the speed limit to 20mph could be a compromise solution.
He said: "At times the traffic speed through the town is excessive. At certain times of the day it is a race track."
Despite three sets of traffic lights, he says vehicles regularly break the speed limit, cutting just seconds off their journey.
He added: "The speed in the early evenings is horrendous – well over 50mph in some cases. The delay on most of the pedestrian crossings is too long and people dart across because they don't want to wait."
He estimated that a driver travelling from Morrisons' Bell Street entrance towards Dorking would get to West Street just 10 seconds quicker at 30mph than at 20.
The pedestrianisation suggestion came after Surrey County Council asked members of Reigate Business Guild for ideas as to how to spend £150,000 over the next three years to encourage sustainable transport.
Guild members have often raised concerns about the speed of traffic through town.
Reigate Central borough councillor Christopher Whinney said: "Residents in West Street are very concerned at the speed of traffic. It is dangerous to pedestrians and to vehicles trying to turn. My concern in High Street is when traffic accelerates away after being stopped at a traffic light.
"I know some people think pedestrianisation is a nice idea, But it is not just about what is nice for pedestrians, it is an essential issue for traders too, because if it stops people from coming into the town, the point of it is reduced."
Reigate mum-of-two Sarah Hamilton, 33, said pedestrianisation would be "wonderful".
She said: "There is always traffic passing through because it is such an important road.
"You do occasionally see people coming through too fast, so reducing the speed could be a compromise."
