SPEEDING traffic along Union Street was discussed at a meeting of town councillors last night. They agreed that a Metro count be requested to log the speed of motorists who often use the street as a ‘rat run.’
Cllr Jon Hubbard said that he had been asked by a few residents on Union Street to look into the issue of traffic. “By the time it gets to the far end of Union Street, the Lowbourne end, traffic is at full whack,” he said. “We have looked at Union Street many times before, but the Highways team [Wiltshire Council] are clear that access only is not available for Union Street.”
Cllr Hubbard explained that people need to access the businesses along the street such as the fish and chip shop and the vets, and said that motorists would still use the road and get round the ban by making excuses, saying they were thinking of going to one of the businesses.
Councillors were joined online by residents of Union Street, Sam and Kate. Sam said, “Most residents do not have a problem with the volume of traffic. The issue is the speed.” He said that some of the houses have frontage which is very close to the road.
He explained that there are other issues such as delivery vehicles being parked at the Chicken Hut end of Union Street. He said that as vehicles had been unable to get through to residents, recycling vehicles had to be re-routed and residents had their own deliveries cancelled due to lack of access.
In considering slowing down the speed of the traffic, councillors at the town council’s economic, development & planning committee also considered whether having a ‘no left turn’ at the junction of Union Street and Lowbourne would work. However, it was explained that the Highways team at Wiltshire Council would not agree to such a scheme.
Councillors agreed that the introduction of a 20mph speed limit would be the goal, with a Metro count introduced in the first instance, to provide evidence of speeding.
