Regular visitors to the airfield section of Hayes Lane will have noticed several recent changes aimed at slowing down traffic and increasing parking opportunities—helping more people to enjoy this beautiful and historic part of Kenley.
Previously, the speed limit along this stretch was inconsistent: it began at 30mph coming from Tandridge, increased to 40mph around the airfield, and then dropped to 20mph near the Old Lodge Lane roundabout. Given the road’s winding nature and lack of street lighting, as councillors we frequently received requests for speed reduction measures here.
In response, the speed limit has now been standardised to 30mph from Tandridge all the way through to just before the mini-roundabout.
Other changes have taken place too.
- A build-out has been constructed to help pedestrians crossing from the War Memorial entrance of the airfield over to Coulsdon Common
- Yellow-lines have painted between the Old Lodge Lane mini-roundabout and the designated parking bays
- The parking bays at the Old Lodge Lane end of the airfield have been repainted and disabled parking bay introduced
- Following a full road safety audit, parking bays have been extended down to the border with Tandridge. This has been done with two outcomes in mind
- encourage more mindful driving by narrowing road space and clearly defining parking areas
- provide more parking for people wanting to visit the airfield. We all know how busy it gets on fine days.
Changes like the build-out, parking bays and yellow-lines are obvious to the eye, but the change in the speed limit isn’t so noticeable. We’ve spoken to the Safer Neighbourhood Police Team who also had concerns about the speed on this road and they have confirmed that they will undertake regular checks to enforce the speed limit.
At a recent community safety Ward Panel meeting, residents also asked the police to undertake speed checks on Kenley’s roads. If you have any roads where you are concerned about speeding, do let us know ([email protected], [email protected]) so that we can pass these roads onto the police for them to assess the viability of undertaking speed checks.
The changes to Hayes Lane are a result of the ‘Connecting Kenley Healthy Streets Programme’ – identified by residents, community groups and your local councillors to enhance road safety, pedestrian accessibility, air quality, and community spaces in Kenley.
