Speeding in Welwyn

Letter sent to Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps

Sir - Re: Speeding in Codicote Road, Welwyn.

We are writing to you as we appear to be getting nowhere with the local authorities including Hertfordshire Highways and the police.

We are extremely concerned at the speed and recklessness of some motorist using the Codicote Road, Welwyn. Despite a number of residents' attempts at getting the police to enforce the 30 mph speed limit and Hertfordshire Highways to maintain the road signs and markings nothing much has happened.

As residents we face increasing traffic volume and speeds which with the closure of the A1(M) will only get worse.

We experience verbal abuse from road users if we attempt to stop outside our homes to offload passengers and shopping. Large articulated lorries often mount the pavement to avoid each other which brings them literally within inches of our front doors, let alone the damage this does to the fabric of our homes.

We have also experienced a number of incidents of verbal assault and sometimes the threat of physical assault.

For some reason there appears to be more than just a lack of interest or action that could be attributed to any budgetary constraints, after all Hertfordshire Highways have just spent tens of thousands on replacing crash barriers along an uninhabited part of the Codicote Road.

The only people that would be injured in an accident here would be drivers (speeding) themselves. Whereas, it is only a matter of time before one of our innocent neighbours steps out of their front door and is mown down by an HGV mounting the pavement.

At times it is easy to see why some of our neighbours believe that what we are trying to do is futile given some councillors vested interests in large local haulage firms!

We are not asking for the speed limit to be reduced or for the expensive road calming measures to be installed but it would be nice if the authorities complied with their public duty, such as Hertfordshire Highways replacing old worn out signs and placing 'speed aware' signs along the road and perhaps consider placing a few bollards in front of vulnerable properties.

Similarly, we have asked the police to monitor traffic speed but mistakenly we now know they are under the misapprehension that the speed of traffic is within ACPO limits. They are also more concerned with residents that stop to offload as it is 'dangerous' to other road users.

It is a shame that they do not apply the same duty of care to residents that face abuse from motorists when they try to cross the road with children, pets and shopping in hand.

I hope we can count on your support and thank you for your attention with regard to this matter.

James Brum, Codicote Road, Welwyn.