Residents say 25mph limit has not made a scrap of difference
RESIDENTS in two of the busier roads in which 25mph speed limits have been introduced said traffic had not been slowed.
Lower speed limits came into force on 7 April in a total of 81 lanes, roads and part-roads, attached to local centres and around Blanchelande College.
Allan Simon, 73, retired, has lived in Rue du Friquet, Castel, for the past two years.
There was no point in introducing new speed limits unless the roads were being policed regularly, he said.
‘I’ve called the police more times than you could shake a stick,’ he said. ‘I walk five to 10 miles each day and it’s horrendous along here.
‘People drive fast down Rectory Hill to beat the traffic lights and, once they are through, they are straight into Rue du Friquet.
‘When I moved back to Guernsey one of the first things I did was to get rid of my bigger car, but there’s still a lot of pavement surfing down here.’
Retired landscape gardener Ricky Allen, who has lived in Rue du Friquet since 1975, said it had got so much busier since the garden centre began trading.
‘About half the cars that come along here go into the garden centre,’ he said. ‘A busy road is a busy road and there’s not a lot you can do about it but the 25mph speed limit hasn’t made a scrap of difference.
‘There are still some people who are doing 50mph along here though it’s mainly motorbikes and I think the signage is wrong too.’
Sue Laine, 60, said Rue du Friquet was much busier now than it was in 1979 when she moved there.
‘I don’t think the 25mph limit has made a blind bit of difference. If I need to walk towards Le Friquet Hotel with the grandchildren it’s treacherous,’ she said.
‘There’s no pavement along there and some people drive within inches of you. I’ve had to shout at people before to get them to give us more space.’
Residents at La Route du Braye, Vale, held similar views.
Salesman Greg Josey, 50, said those who were speeding there before were still doing so and it came down to driver attitude.
‘I don’t think people will take any notice unless they have a greater police presence and I don’t think that that’s going to happen,’ he said.
‘If I had my way I’d put speed humps down.’
Steve Sansom, 46, who has lived there for 16 years, thought the change had been a waste of money.
‘Why change something that isn’t broken?’ he said.
‘You’ll always get your boy racers, no matter what the speed limit is.
‘The money could have been better spent on something else and it’s a silly idea. Guernsey roads are so congested these days that it can be difficult to drive at 35mph any way.’
Environment & Infrastructure president Deputy Barry Brehaut said: ‘It’s disappointing to hear anecdotally that some drivers are not adhering to the new speed limits.
‘If there’s still a problem in these areas then it will have to be dealt with by more proactive policing.’
