The text of a leaflet distributed
to homes near to Chessington Road

Why is a bigger road needed?

The new dualled section of Chessington road is part of a package of road improvements carried out by Surrey County Council to cope with a perceived increased in traffic due to the development of Epsom's formal mental hospitals. (The Hospital Cluster Developments) The road improvements were first proposed in the late 1980s and since then your Residents Association and its Councillors have always contested that these new developments would generate no more traffic than the hospitals they replaced. So far we have seen no evidence to prove us wrong.

The answers to the following questions are given on the assumption that we did not agree to these changes, but we have a duty to work with them and to inform residents of any relevant information.

Why have our councillors not been in touch about the road?

Discussions about this development have been going on for at least 16 years. During that time your Councillors, both past and present, have been actively liasing with the road planners and consulting with residents. There have been numerous articles in our newsletters and a number of public meetings. In fact two residents who attended these meetings and made very vocal statements against the road are now R.A. councillors, and continue to campaign to get a better deal for residents. When residents have got in touch with us, we have responded. Many issues have been resolved in this manner.

We hope that residents will make use of the contact details for us that are published in every newsletter, the West Ewell & Ruxley RA Web site and the Councils web site.

Why were we not informed of the opening date for the Dual Carriageway?

Essential gas pipeline works, that could only be carried out by the Gas boards contractor and was outside of the control of Surrey County Council or the road contractors, delayed the opening of the new road. Councillors were given a number of dates for the completion of the works. Had we responded to each of these dates with a leaflet announcing the opening of the dual carriageway then we would have wasted a great deal of time and money, as well as having huge amounts of egg on our faces!

Sorry, it just couldn't be done.

What is being done about speeding motorists?

It does not take too much imagination to work out that a dual carriageway will tempt motorists to speed. We have said it all along and take no pleasure in being proved right. S.C.C. and the police are reviewing this situation, and your councillors will be asking for action. At the time of writing, the outside lane of the old section of Chessington road remains coned off to reduce the likelihood of speeding and to help residents become acclimatised to living on a dual carriageway. Yet again we have to say that we have always doubted the wisdom of creating a dual carriageway in a 30mph zone.

What can be done about people dodging the lights at the shops service road at the Ruxley Lane junction?

Strictly speaking this is a perfectly legal manoeuvre, and if carried out with due respect for the give way junction, perfectly safe. As drivers have been abusing this access, we have had speed bumps installed in the service road, however we would be interested in hearing more views from residents about this matter.

The traffic lights at Ruxley Lane cant cope with the traffic. Why wasn't a roundabout built?

The traffic lights sequence has been tweaked to maximise traffic flow. More adjustment may be possible in the near future. A roundabout suitable for this junction would need to be of a similar size to that at the other end of the duelled section, at the junction with Hook Road. Adverse comments from residents about this roundabout in the past suggest that a similar one at Ruxley Lane would not be popular. The current traffic signals also provide pedestrian crossing phases.

What can be done about rat running local streets?

Although in theory, increasing the capacity of a road should lead to a drop in traffic in adjacent streets. This does not appear to have worked in practice. This is an issue that we will ensure is looked at once the Ruxley Lane traffic lights are at best efficiency and drivers have become accustomed to the new road layout. The continuing gas roadwork's further along Chessington Rd and the closure of Long Grove Road may have a bearing on the routes taken by drivers.

Why was the work on Chessington Road not done at the same time as the work on Horton Lane in order to lessen the impact on local residents?

We feel that there will be a number of opinions amongst residents on this question. However the reason that the roads were developed in stages was because each stage was linked to the number of homes built of the Hospital Cluster developments. As the number of homes built reached a specific figure, a new stage of road development was triggered.