'Speeding problem' in East Woodhay as latest data from speed device published

The latest speeding data in East Woodhay has been published, as the parish council investigates the extent of hasty driving in the parish.

For the past six months, the parish council has been placing a speed indication device (SID) around the roads of Woolton Hill and East Woodhay.

The latest data from Woolton Hill Road, opposite the junior school, shows that just over 20 per cent of drivers were doing over 30mph, with a top speed of 55mph.

The SID also shows the 85th percentile speed – the speed at which 85 per cent of the traffic will be travelling at or below, and is usually associated with the setting of speed limits.

Along the same stretch of Woolton Hill Road, the 85th percentile speed was 31.9mph.

The worst spots for speeding so far have been on Woolton Hill Road next to the tennis courts, where there was a top speed of 60mph, 34.1 per cent were over 30mph with an 85th percentile speed of 34.3mph, and on the same road outside Blind Man’s Gate, where 36.4 per cent were speeding and there was a top speed of 55mph, with an 85th percentile speed of 33.8 per cent.

The project was initially set up to establish whether there was a speeding problem in the village.

Six months on, the lead councillor on the project, Martin Hainge, confirmed there was a problem, and that his disappointment was that “it’s really all over [the village]”.

He said: “It’s a little disappointing really – it’s surprising how high the minority percentage is of people who don’t stick to the 30mph limit.

“The school one is particularly surprising because it’s been a pinch point for years as you can tell because there are bollards and the road has been narrowed, and yet we still are recording 20 per cent of people still doing over 30mph.

“I would’ve thought given there are measures to slow traffic down, it still seems to me to be a pretty high figure.

“Overall, the majority are sticking to the speed limit but there’s a large minority still ignores that there’s a danger there.”

Trade Street recorded the lowest 85th percentile speed of 26.3mph, with a top speed of 40mph and 20.1 per cent of drivers doing over 30mph, but Mr Hainge said he believed that the 30mph speed limit along that road was “too fast”.

The council will now look to discuss the findings with the local police community support officer, Joshua Revett, with the intention of setting up a Speedwatch scheme.

This scheme will likely target outside the schools and the tennis club on Woolton Hill Road.

The SID – which cost the council £3,000 – will keep moving around the village, encouraging drivers to slow down.

It only lights up at 27mph and above. If drivers are doing 27 to 30mph, it displays the driver’s speed alongside a ‘thank you’ message, while at more than 30mph drivers are told to slow down.

Data for all the SID's sites can be found on the parish council website.