A proposal to trial a 'quiet lanes' project – costing £50,000 – in an area within the neighbouring parishes of Trotton and Rogate is to be considered next week.
West Sussex County Council's North Chichester County Local Committee, meeting in public at Lodsworth tomorrow (Tuesday,December 8), will consider an officers' report recommending a pilot study and trial for an area comprising six D-class roads bounde
d to the south by the A272, to the west by North Street, Rogate, to the north by Harting Coombe Road, and to the east by Iping Lane.
Members of the committee will be told an estimated £25,000 will be needed to fund a preliminary study and collect data on existing use of the lanes, and up to £25,000 more would be required for design and implementation of a trial – even though, the report notes, the benefits of the scheme are not identifiable at the present time, and it may actually generate more traffic by making the area attractive.
The Trotton/Rogate location is one of five in West Sussex which has been identified as suitable for a quiet lanes trial. Extending the use of such lanes is included in the West Sussex Transport Plan for 2006-2016. The report before next week's meeting says they are a Countryside Agency initiative which has government support.
Department for Transport guidelines define them as minor rural roads or networks of minor rural roads appropriate for shared use by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and vehicles.
"The primary objective of quiet lanes is to make some minor rural roads more attractive for those who wish to walk, cycle and horse ride along them, for business or pleasure," the report says.
"A trial would establish a network of routes which cater for shared use by drivers, walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and link to public rights of way networks and open spaces."
The roads within the proposed area are believed to carry already low levels of traffic travelling at appropriate speeds.
However, vehicle speed and volume surveys would be needed to establish existing levels of use.
A quiet lanes trial was approved between 2003 and 2005 in the Bury and Bignor area, but was subsequently dropped after receiving a chilly reception from local people.
The North Chichester County Local Committee, open to the public, meets at Lodsworth village hall on Tuesday, December 8, at 7pm.
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