Our road’s plagued with queues after clueless council wasted £25k changing the speed limit to 30mph – it’s made it worse
LOCALS have blasted a council for spending £25k in taxpayer’s cash to change the speed limit on their road from 40mph to 30mph.
Despite cops saying the move would not make any “significant” difference, Southampton City Council made the change – and its left residents furious.
Residents using the road insist that it should stay 40mph to ease congestion and say the ‘ridiculous’ cost is a waste of council resources that will lead to longer traffic queues.
They said drivers treated the road “like a race track” and woke them up in the middle of the night – with fears that lowering the speed would only make traffic worse rather than solving the problem.
The speed limit was lowered to help install cycle lanes and improve road safety.
Speaking to the Sun Online, exhausted local Peter Holmes said he had been driving in the area since 1957 and was at his wit’s end.
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The retired vehicle technician, 82, said: “Nothing will change. It’s like a race track, at night and during the day.
“The noise and the souped up exhaust pipes is the biggest problem. We wake up in the middle of the night.
“It’s not just here, it’s everywhere in general. Nobody will stick to the speed limit. Everybody is for themselves.
“I have been driving since 1957, I know what it’s like. I hate it now, I used to love it.”
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The council has defended the decision, saying the move had been made to help make roads safer after receiving public support.
But neighbour Marilyn Kelly said she doubted the pricey move would improve safety.
The retired hairdresser, 84, added: “£25,000 is ridiculous, they have got other things they can spend that on.”
Meanwhile local property developer Ram Singh, 49, said: “Changing it to 30 just means more traffic slowing down.
“The queues have been getting worse, especially when they put in the cycle lane which was a total waste of money, they just took it back out again.
“Spending £25,000 on changing the signs is just another waste of resources. The people running these councils haven’t got a clue.
“They could just put some more traffic lights or a couple of pedestrian crossings, because I have two kids and they have to walk all the way up to the traffic lights to cross.”
Hampshire police recommended the road should stay at 40mph, stating it was appropriate for this main road and changing the limit “will not see any significant reduction in overall speeds”.
But the move has been welcomed by some locals with cyclist David Leighton, 67, saying: “As a driver, I like it as a 40. But as a cyclist, I like it as a 30.
“50 or 60 would be too fast but 40 is fine. I don’t think that’s an unduly dangerous speed.
“It’s the main route into the city and you want to be able to get cars in and out of the city quickly.
“I think the council have wanted to make a decision for years about the cycle lane and had an opportunity to do something silly during the pandemic but it didn’t last long.
“I just think instead of people doing 50 in a 40 they will now do 40 in a 30, so there is some degree of control.”
And mum-of-three Kelly Baker, 49, said: “The pavement is so narrow and lorries thunder down the road. Once I was walking with my son and a car clipped the curb right where we were walking.
“It was better with the cycle lane, I felt a bit safer.
Cabinet Member for Transport and District Regeneration, Councillor Eamonn Keogh, said: “The change to the speed limit received public support.
“It aligns with DfT [Department for Transport] policy, supports our 20mph communities scheme and cycle lanes, and it helps to slow down traffic for safer roads for all.”