THERE can rarely have been a case where a simple piece of action could make a major contribution to road safety and improve the lives of local residents.

Currently on the Bradenham Road, West Wycombe, we have the bizarre situation of having signs indicating a dangerous railway bridge and at the same time national derestriction signs indicating that drivers can travel at 60mph if they wish!

Given the recent tragic accident on this piece of road, it is about time that this situation was corrected and action taken by the county council to impose a 40mph speed limit for the length of the Bradenham Road from the Pedestal to the boundary of Wycombe Town.

Government publications on road safety state the importance of lower speeds on lowering accident rates.

On the Bradenham Road, lower speed limits would not only improve road safety at the notorious railway bridge but also make life better for local residents who have to battle daily with speeding traffic when they enter or leave their homes.

Local residents are so keen to see this happen that some of them have also volunteered to raise the money to pay for new signs.

Common sense says that it is difficult to see what downside there can be to removing the derestriction signs now and bringing in a new 40mph speed limit on this road as soon as possible. Action needs to be taken now!

Cllr Stephen Billingham

Liberal Democrat District

Council Member

West Wycombe & Sands

Wycombe District Council

Ridge Close

Lane End

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.