A “DANGEROUS” road where you ‘have to put your life in your hands’ was deemed safe by senior councillors amid calls to lower the speed limit.

Nearly 175 Ascot residents signed a petition urging the Royal Borough to lower the 40mph speed limit in London Road (A329), between Cheapside Road and the Sunninghill roundabout, to 30mph, believing speeding vehicles along the narrow, bendy road makes it “very dangerous” for other motorists and pedestrians on the narrow footpath.

Senior councillors were told by the lead petitioner Kate Vallance that because the road is so narrow, lorries are having to use both lanes when coming off the roundabout, causing a hazard to oncoming vehicles.

Mrs Vallance said: “It is virtually certain that there will be serious injuries or deaths. Something needs to be done now.”

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While there are seven slow markings on the rural road, Mrs Vallance said these are “ignored” by drivers. She said if a lower speed limit is not an option, she urged for some traffic calming measures, like speed bumps.

Meanwhile, Cllr Julian Sharpe (Con: Ascot & Sunninghill) said he had to ‘put his life into his own hands’ when he crossed the road due to low visibility and urged for a new crossing in order for families and children to cross and access nearby Victory Fields safely.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting on Thursday, September 29, Cllr Phil Haseler (Con: Cox Green), lead member for highways, said the council conducted a speed survey in December 2021 and found 85 per cent of the vehicles were travelling at the speed limit or less.

The A329 carries up to 7,000 vehicles a day. The council found only four accidents were recorded in the last five years, none of which were serious and only one may have had speed as a contributory factor.

With that in mind, Cllr Haseler, who is a former collision investigator, said 40mph is safe for the road and no further action should be taken.

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He said: “There are disrespectful and arrogant people out on our roads, and you will always get that.

“The nature of the road reduces the speed because it is reasonably narrow. If a lorry does take up two sides of the road, everybody that’s using the road has a responsibility to stop within the distance they can see to be clear.

“If they don’t, then they engage in careless or dangerous driving. So, just reducing the speed limit is not the answer.”

He added the council will “struggle” to get the police to enforce the 30mph speed limit if the officers think it’s not “justified or reasonable”. Cllr Haseler also said adding traffic calming measures in a 40mph zone is “unlawful”.

While senior councillors did not approve lowering the speed limit or adding traffic calming measures, council leader Andrew Johnson (Con: Hurley & Walthams) said they will keep the road under review and look to establish a community speed watch group to monitor peoples’ speeds.