Sutton Council to investigate zebra crossing on St Barnabas Road due to safety concerns

Sutton Council to investigate zebra crossing on St Barnabas Road due to safety concerns

Sutton Council has agreed to investigate the feasibility of installing a zebra crossing on St Barnabas Road following a petition from concerned residents. The road is known to be used as a rat run for speeding vehicles, with peak speeds recorded between 41 and 43 miles per hour.

The Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee met on Thursday, 8 October 2026, to discuss the petition, which cited safety concerns for pedestrians, particularly children attending Manor Park Primary Academy and worshippers from Our Lady of the Rosary. Residents highlighted that there is no safe, designated crossing point on the stretch of road in question. Official collision records show four injury-related incidents over five years, including two involving pedestrians, and residents have witnessed many vehicle-damage incidents and near misses.

Initial traffic monitoring, conducted over just over 8 hours across three weeks, captured 308 speeding violations out of 2441 vehicles. This resulted in an overall non-compliance rate of 12.6% with the 20mph speed limit. While this rate is just below the 15% threshold for immediate further action, officers acknowledged that a carefully positioned crossing could help slow traffic and improve safety.

The committee noted the petition, which had 91 signatures, and agreed that a feasibility investigation into the proposal would be carried out. The petition specifically requests a zebra crossing on St Barnabas Road between Upper Vernon Road and Carshalton Road, ideally near the junction with Upper Vernon Road. The findings will be reported back to the lead petitioner, Jan Underhill Redpath. The feasibility work will be funded through the current Transport for London (TfL) allocation for 2026/27.

During the meeting, Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, thanked Ms Underhill Redpath for presenting the case. Councillor Nick Mattey inquired about the possibility of giving the proposal high priority for the 2027 to 2028 HIP scheme. Officers responded positively, explaining that the 'HIP scheme' is referred to as the 'Local Implementation Plan (LIP)' in the meeting documents. The process for prioritizing projects involves assessing schemes alongside other proposals for inclusion in future programmes, such as the 2027/2028 Programme to Transport for London (TfL). Schemes with high collision rates are currently prioritised, and the inclusion of a proposal in the LIP programme is subject to committee support and funding availability.

Discussions also touched upon the potential impact on parking and whether the crossing would lead to traffic diversion onto other roads. An initial review indicated that potential locations for the crossing might require the removal of existing permit parking spaces. The investigation will explore opportunities to re-provide these bays elsewhere to minimise parking loss. Officers suggested that due to St Barnabas Road's directness, significant diversion was unlikely, and that slowing traffic could potentially reduce pollution.

Read the full agenda supplement here: Agenda Supplement 08th-Oct-2026 19.00 Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee

See the public reports pack here: Public reports pack 08th-Oct-2026 19.00 Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee