WESTBURY Town Council want to make Alfred Street, including streets leading off Alfred Street, a 20mph zone in a bid to curb speeding and dangerous driving in the area following a series of complaints.
It had been reported to the town council that the area had been used previously by motorists who use the area as a cut-through instead of using it for its intended purposes.
Following these complaints, a traffic survey was undertaken and a 20mph sign will be considered by Wiltshire Council soon.
Speaking at a recent meeting of Westbury Town Council’s highways, planning and development (HP&D) committee, cllr Mike Sutton said, “This issue has been raised here several times – we keep hearing reports about Alfred Street being used as a cut-through. A 20mph sign makes a statement to say that the town council considers this to be a town road that is not suitable for through traffic.
Alfred Street residents previously asked for a resolution to parking issues in the area and so double yellow lines were installed in the area. Whilst this solved parking issues in Alfred Street, it also created a strip of land where cars who were using it as a cut-through were racing to get past.
The parking issues have been exacerbated in the area due to HGVs wrongly using the road, which had resulted in one resident complaining to the town council that her wall outside her house on Alfred Street had been repeatedly knocked down by HGVs. New signs have been installed to warn drivers that the area is not suitable for HGVs.
Whilst also looking at other areas of parking issues in the town, the town council had looked into the costs of hiring a traffic enforcement officer to visit specific areas, but they were told that none were available.
Speaking at the HP&D meeting, cllr Sutton explained, “I note the article in the White Horse News recently where a resident was making the point that the lack of enforcement of any parking or highways rules has becomes almost anarchy.
“We looked at hiring a traffic enforcement officer to come to Westbury for a couple of days to look at some of the hot spots, but we were told by Wiltshire Council that they got rid of the majority of their officers and won’t be hiring more, as a bid to save money.
Wiltshire Council’s local highway and footway improvement group will meet on Friday 7th October where this item will be discussed.
