Countryside Traffic Measures Group: A traffic calming scheme at Charlwood, Surrey

In November 1999, traffic calming measures were implemented in the Surrey village of Charlwood. They were installed as an element of the Dorking Rural Box (DRB) scheme, part of Surrey County Council's Strategic Traffic Area Reduction (STAR) initiative. The Dorking Rural Box scheme was submitted under the Countryside Traffic Measures Group (CTMG) initiative, a joint initiative of the Countryside Agency and the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions. The initiative aimed to support the planning and implementation by local authorities of innovative rural traffic schemes designed to integrate sensitively into the local environment. The DRB (bounded by the A24, A25, A217 and A624) suffered from London commuter traffic and traffic to and from nearby London Gatwick Airport. The aims of the DRB scheme were to reduce this traffic by implementing an area-wide 40 miles/h speed limit entered by gateways, with 20 miles/h limits in villages (to be traffic calmed) within the area, benefiting other road users such as walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The report describes a traffic calming scheme in Charlwood, the first village within the DRB to be treated. It presents the results of monitoring undertaken to assess its effectiveness in terms of vehicle speeds, noise, air quality and public attitudes. (A)