The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
I would like to take the opportunity to respond to James Penfold’s email about Community Speed Watch in the Spalding area.
As a resident of Weston Hills, just outside Spalding, I was delighted to hear about the Community Speed Watch initiative and was one of the first to put my name forward. I retired due to ill-health and moved to Weston Hills for peace and quiet, albeit not far from Spalding and all its amenities.
I had not realised what a rat-run I was living in with irregular farm traffic, lorries and boy racers-types. I had ensured to live in a 30mph limit. Few people seem to take notice and drive at excessive speeds through the village and beyond.
I have, on occasion, seen cars that have got out of control “parked” in a field between Weston Hills and Moulton, usually at the weekend when, clearly, there has been some “racing activity”.
I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, as I have been quite vociferous in my condemnation of speeding, partly owing to the loss of my beloved cat, on the road outside my home as well as the noise and danger to local residents.
I would like to point out to Mr Penfold that I am, in no way, narcissistic nor do I wear a green jacket. I am just a resident of Weston Hills who is fed up with speeders and welcome the opportunity to try and do something about it.
Community Speed Watch was set up to deter drivers from speeding and inform/confirm the speed limit. In addition, each team collects data on the number of vehicles passing through the location at a given time, this is collated and used by Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
We use a police-authorised camera to record speeds. We record the registration/make and model, date and time of those persons driving at speeds above the limit. Offenders then receive a letter advising them of their offence and asking them to drive more carefully in the future.
We are not replacing the police, we do not have any powers as such, nor do we want them. We are aiding our local residents and providing traffic information for the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership and the police, which they do not have the resources or manpower to do.
This is a UK-wide initiative which is rolling-out on an on-going basis.
Jane Hickford
Broadgate
Weston Hills
