SPEED tables and a 20mph zone are the preferred solution to problem of speeding motorists cutting along Lansdown Road in Eastcott.

The residential road is parallel to Bath Road, which can be congested in rush hours, and so motorists try to save time by rat-running through the road. The road is also a popular route for children going to King William Street Primary School, before going into the town centre or re-joining Bath Road.

Earlier this year, ward councillors surveyed all 100 households in the road, with 95 per cent saying there was a speed problem, and also asked them for ideas for road schemes to kerb the problem.

Recently, councillors held a public meeting at the Ashford Road Club where the schemes were costed and presented to residents, resulting in householders reaching a consensus over a £12,000 scheme for two speed tables and a 20mph zone in the road.

Coun Dave Wood (Lib Dem, Eastcott) said: “The reasons for the tables were they wanted to provide a deterrent for people using it as a rat run trying to escape from the Bath Road traffic.

“So the idea was, if there were speed tables there which make it unpleasant for drivers to go very fast down that road, it would deter them and therefore basically reduce the volume of traffic and reduce the speed as well.

“The idea of a 20mph zone is it’s felt that cars now go very fast down that road. “If you are going at 30mph down a straight residential street, it feels very fast but it’s not illegal. But if you introduce a 20mph zone it will reduce traffic flows.

“The other thing the residents did is form a Community Speedwatch with the police so residents will be trained to use a speed gun to monitor the speed of cars. “And people going more than 20mph will receive a letter from the police indicating the day and time they were exceeding the speed limit.”

Coun Wood said a newsletter detailing the consensus of the meeting would be sent to those who could not be there to ensure there is wider support, and if so, he would ask for the favoured scheme to be put forward for funding at the next town centre locality meeting.

Joanne Hyde, a grandmother-of-six, who has lived in Lansdown Road for 22 years, said the speed tables and 20mph zone seemed to be the most effective all-around option at a price the council could realistically afford.

She said: “We had one little girl who came to the meeting, she was 11 years of age and she spoke up at the meeting and said she was terrified of trying to get across Lansdown Road but also around the Kent Road area.

“The school children recently saw a cat that had been killed in the middle of the road and the children were walking past crying – they were really upset. “It might just be a cat to some people but it’s a warning.”