Dad fears town’s ‘worst road’ is going to end up killing child
A father-of-two has demanded a “dangerous” road in Horley is resurfaced before someone is killed. David Stride says the uneven surface of Smallfield Road, which he claims is full of potholes, is dangerous and could lead to a cyclist suffering a serious incident if nothing is done. Mr Stride has two sons who go to schools on the road.
Nine-year-old Mason goes to Langshot School while Ryan, 15, attends Oakwood School. He was worried those who could be involved in an accident might be children cycling on their way to school. “If you try and cycle on these roads you’re likely to fall over and get killed,” he said. “To me, it’s very serious and that road desperately needs doing because [the schools] are right outside.
It needs complete resurfacing. READ MORE:Cyclist killed in crash as road remains closed “You’ve got some heavy lorries which serve that road quite a lot so you get a fair bit of heavy traffic.
It needs complete resurfacing, not just a little pothole repair. It’s one of the worst roads I’ve seen in Horley and it’s outside two schools which is dangerous for the children. “I’ve seen kids fall off on the road, it’s a child safety thing for me.
There is no provision for any cycling lanes. A lot of the cars park in such a way that you would struggle to get an ambulance down the road because of the inconsiderate parking. What I’d like to see them do is widen the path.”
Mr Stride says the road could cause a cyclist to be injured – or worse (Image: Surrey Live / Darren Pepe)
Mr Stride said he felt towns such as Horley were being overlooked for other areas such as nearby Reigate.
Having lived in Horley for almost a decade he believed Reigate would get more resources to deal with the issues on Smallfield Road. He added: “The general consensus of people I’ve spoken to is that Horley is the poor cousin of Reigate which would be resurfaced straight away. I know councils are struggling for money but when it comes to child safety you’ve got to prioritise that.”
Surrey County Council, who is responsible for roads in the county, said in response the road had been logged with their Highways team. An inspection of Smallfield Road would be carried out “as soon as possible”. A council spokesperson said: “This has been logged with our Highways team and a Highways Customer Officer will be carrying out an inspection as soon as possible to see if there are any safety defects that require any repairs.
“Once this inspection has taken place, we will be able to update further.
We encourage residents to report highways issues via our website – www.surreycc.gov.uk.”
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