Speeding Traffic through the Village

Is it time to take real action on this subject?
Here below is an e-mail we received earlier this week from a frustrated village resident called Sally Mallam.

“I use the village a lot to walk from Murley Grange, Forder lane into the village for shopping, the post office and chemist. The walk is frought with speeding traffic and many do more than the speed limit, several places do not have pavements. I would like to see the speed reduced to 20 mph with speed bumps along the road. How can this be expedited to the council to be discussed.“

Best regards Sally Mallam

This topic has been raised time and again but we seem no closer to a workable solution. Feel free to jump into the discussion by leaving your comments below!

Update 15.10.18 – Star User Comment:

Mark Le Briton has eloquently highlighted some of the issues with regard to the actual speed of traffic in villages and those measures that could be introduced.
Considerable experience has shown that the perceived speed of moving traffic is generally higher than the actual speed. In this regard it would be required to establish the average speed of traffic travelling through Bishopsteignton along with the volume of traffic. This would best be served by carrying out some form of traffic survey in which the local speed watch team could participate.
If the results indicate that the recorded traffic speed is around < 24mph then the introduction of a 20mph speed limit would to be deemed most appropriate.
For higher recorded average speeds, some form of traffic calming would be required to reduce speeds and to establish a self-enforcing 20mph Zone. Traffic calming could be in he form of traffic throttles (chicanes , narrowing, etc.,) Give and Take, rumble strips, speed cushions and speed bumps, to name a few. From time served experience the latter of these i.e. speed bumps, cushions and rumble strips, are not favoured in residential areas for obvious reasons due to their induced problems concerned with traffic noise. Moreover, the emergency services do not favour humps or cushions. Actually, one the most cost effective measures to reduce traffic speed is actually on-street parking. Evidence has shown where parking is removed traffic speeds increase appreciably. However, with careful design the inclusion of a range of traffic calming measures will produce a very effective 20mph Zone but that could be at a price.
Just a word on One-Way systems. Such systems should so designed and implemented as to reduce the likelihood of an increase in traffic circulation that would obviously occur. Consequently such systems may very well not suit many villages.
Hope this brief note is of use.
Kindest Regards