Sandy Lane is an increasingly busy thoroughfare between Oxshott and Cobham. It has 600 yards of woodland, a mixture of housing including private estates and a secondary school catering to approximately 800 students. However, it lacks street lighting and only has sporadic pavements. The speed limit used to be 60 mph but was reduced to 40mph in the 1980s. However, the secondary school has increased in size over recent years resulting in a significant increase in traffic. This has made it more hazardous for school children and local residents to walk safely as the lack of pavements means vehicles pass dangerously close to pedestrians. Local residents are now rallying together to put pressure on Surrey County Council to reduce the speed limit even further to 30mph, to replace grass verges with pavements and to install street lighting. The strongest arguments in favour of these proposals are that Sandy Lane is the only road in the surrounding area which retains a 40mph speed limit. Furthermore, the government is promoting improvements to make our roads safer for everyone with the aim of encouraging us to choose greener ways to undertake our journeys. Surely, lack of pavements and street lighting have to be addressed as part of such improvements. Let’s hope local residents succeed in making Sandy Lane a much safer road for motorists and pedestrians alike.
