Devizes families in plea for traffic curbs (From This Is Wiltshire)

Devizes families in plea for traffic curbs

7:00am Sunday 5th July 2009

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Worried families in Long Street, Devizes, are calling for action to tackle the volume of traffic using the road.

A petition signed by more than 150 people has been given to Devizes Town Council.

Robin Lane, one of the petition organisers, said: “We feel the volume and speed of the traffic has become so much worse over the last 15 years.

“We would like a 20mph speed limit introduced, a ban on trucks and coaches using the road and a pedestrian crossing installed. We fear that if the level of traffic continues either the buildings, which are old, are going to fall down or people will be killed, or both.”

Alice Cleland, who has lived in Long Street for 12 years, said: “The houses shake when lorries go past and pieces have fallen off my house.

“We are not being selfish. Long Street is in a conservation area and is one of the main routes into Devizes.”

David Mitchell, who moved to Long Street four months ago, said: “I used to live on the seafront at Worthing and the traffic wasn’t as bad as what it is in Long Street.”

Lyn Payne, a resident of Long Street for ten years, said: “There are a lot of elderly residents living in The Ark and when they want to go to the library they can’t get across the road because of the traffic.

“The situation has got worse since five years ago and it was bad then.”

The campaigners hope the town council will lobby Wiltshire Council to introduce some or all of the measures they have called for. A plan to put speed bumps and other traffic calming measures was proposed by Wiltshire County Council a few years ago for Long Street and Hillworth Road but was dropped due to objections from some residents.

Ted East, the Devizes Guardians town councillor for the area, said: “The town council is well aware of the problem and we are trying to tackle the issue which has been allowed to develop over decades through a lack of strategic planning on behalf of the county council.”

The petition is due to be discussed by Devizes Town Council at a meeting on Tuesday.

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Your Say YourWiltshire

mobyduck, Devizes says...
1:00pm Sun 5 Jul 09

I travel through Devizes on a daily basis and often use Long Street. It is rarely that I can actually travel at a speed above 20mph which is being asked for. The times I use Long Street are days when New Park Street is blocked through volume of traffic. Now the residents of Long Street ask for trucks and coaches to be sent down Southbroom Road and New Park Street which already suffers from major congestion. The whole of Devizes is a traffic nightmare, but I do sense a bit of selfishness here. Are all the residents who are complaining non drivers? I probably think not.