A task force has called for action over thousands of drivers speeding on key roads through a Wiltshire town.
At a meeting on Tuesday, June 18, the Devizes Town Council planning committee will vote on whether to request five community speed watch areas for the town.
This would see infrastructure like speed indicator devices installed on these routes, which include Windsor Drive, Bath Road near St Peters School, London Road, Nursteed North, and Nursteed South.
All of these roads are important routes used for accessing local schools, and high levels of speeding have been identified on them.
Plans for setting up community speed watch initiatives in these areas were handed a setback in March, when metro counts of the town’s main roads found only Windsor Drive would qualify for support from Wiltshire Council.
But the town council’s speed data analysis task group has since conducted a further study which shows that tens of thousands of motorists have been speeding on these roads.
A report prepared for councillors says 24,000 vehicles a week were recorded speeding on Bath Road, nearly a quarter of all traffic.
On Sundays, when there is no rush hour, nearly 40 per cent of traffic heading west on the busy A-road travelled over the 30mph speed limit.
The task group has argued that the results of the previous study were influenced by a range of roadworks that were ongoing in the town, decreasing the average speed on the roads.
The report said: “During peak flow periods, significant levels of traffic are travelling below 10mph which is not replicated at other times of day.
“It was therefore felt that levels of congestion over what are relatively short periods of the day unduly influence daily averages.
“It should be noted that it is already recognised that the Windsor Drive south location qualifies for a community speed watch, but that unlike the other areas it does not suffer from significant congestion.
“It should be further noted that whilst over 11,000 vehicles in a week travelled in excess of the posted speed limit on Windsor Drive, over 24,000 travelled in excess of the speed limit on Bath Road over the same period, even with significant roadworks.”
Town council officers have recommended councillors support the request.
If committee members follow this advice, the requests for community speed watch infrastructure will be submitted to the Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group for consideration.
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