10th December 2024
Council buoyed by talk of A387 speed restrictions
LONG advocates of reducing road safety dangers, Morval Parish Councillors were delighted to learn that the proposed ‘Twenty-is-Plenty’ roll-out of potential restrictions might also extend to looking at existing speed limits on other roads within the parish.
As already reported (https://www.morvalparishcouncil.org.uk/news_details.php?id=225), Cornwall Council’s consultation period for some 20-mph zones suggests that both Widegates village and Sandplace might benefit from reduced limits.
But contained within that up-for-debate document (the last day on which people or organisations can comment is next Friday, December 20) was a suggestion that the main A387 from Venton Vanes to Sandplace might also be suitable for a reduced limit.
That was music to councillors’ ears. They have long believed that the speed restriction on the stretch of road between Sandplace and Venton Vanes and, in particular, on the ‘Morval Motorway’ – the section from the top of Gellies Hill (Snooty Fox) to the ‘Stop’ junction approaching the Venton Vanes dip, that was widened in the late 1970s – should be reduced.
In fact, often led by councillors Clive Pearn and Graham Tamblyn, they have demanded more punitive speed restrictions to be implemented, especially since 2014 when a bus was involved in an accident which resulted in two people losing their lives and four others being seriously injured.
However, previous concerted efforts by the Parish Council have fallen on deaf ears.
Now, though, buried within the ‘Twenty-is-Plenty’ consultation paperwork is a suggestion that speeds on the A387 might also be reviewed (no-one, of course, is suggesting that a 20-mph limit is practical there).
Cornwall Council’s public consultation is primarily concerned with the Morview Estate (Widegates) and Sandplace communities.
But within that document is a suggestion that a 50-mph speed limit might be imposed on the A387 between the junction south west of Venton Vanes (presumably near the ‘Stop’ junction) and the B3254 at Lime Kiln, Sandplace (the Polraen corner?) – and that is an idea the Parish Council fully supports.
But even a proposed 50-mph restriction is not enough, according to some. Looe resident Peter Murnaghan has for many years believed that the valley road from Looe to Sandplace should have greater restrictions.
In his response to the County Council’s consultation he is advocating a 40-mph zone. “Sandplace Road, the A387, is signed as a 50-mph road from the property known as Tremayne as far as Sandplace, and the national maximum speed of 60-mph thence through Morval,’ he says.
“This is a long-standing anomaly on a country road with plenty of bends, where a safe speed in excess of around 40-mph is not possible.
“Both Looe Town Council and Morval Parish Council are aware of this unsatisfactory situation and, from correspondence in July 2022, I understand that both would support a more realistic limit of 40-mph on this section of the Sandplace Road.”
And he adds: “It should be noted that the ‘main’ road (B3253) into Looe, past St Martin’s, has a well-observed 40-mph limit already. The Sandplace Road is very much more sinuous and is rarely used by cyclists out of fear of the traffic.
“The current review of speed limits across the county presents a good opportunity to reduce the speed limit on Sandplace Road from the unattainable 50-mph to a more realistic 40-mph.”
Mr Murnaghan, who lives at Hannafore, also suggests in his letter to Cornwall Council: “This would chime with the overall policy of reducing ‘Killed and Seriously Injured’ (KSI) accidents in and around the town.
“Previous correspondence with your (County Council) colleagues has failed to progress the speed reduction because of a lack of KSIs to satisfy DfT requirements.
“I am sure that you will see the anomalous situation that the (County) Council would find itself in when, on the one hand, it is reducing the risk of KSIs in town (Looe) by reducing the speed limit, but refusing to countenance a speed reduction between Tremayne and Morval, because there are not enough KSIs!”
Mr Murnaghan concludes his letter by saying that the opportunity should be taken to reduce the 50-mph speed limit on the A387 to 40-mph to “reflect current driving practice and make the country road less hazardous for vulnerable road users”.
Further background information explaining the benefits of reducing speed limits to 20-mph can be viewed online at: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/transport-parking-and-streets/roads-highways-and-pavements/20mph-speed-limits/
To see which streets are covered by the proposed speed limits, plans showing the proposals can be viewed either online at: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/TrafficConsult or in person at New County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro, TR1 3AY.
The period of public consultation runs until Friday, December 20 (2024).
To respond to this consultation, you can either:
- Use Cornwall Council’s Consultation finder, an on-line facility for viewing and responding to traffic consultations. This can be accessed by visiting: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/TrafficConsult. Once registered you will be able to submit responses to this and other current traffic consultations.
- *E-mail Infrastructure Design at traffic@cormacltd.co.uk, quoting the scheme name and reference, and indicating your support or objection to the proposals.
- Respond in writing using the official Consultation Response Form (pdf attached), indicating your support or objection to the proposals.