Taking speeding issues into residents’ hands

MAIDENHEAD: A new community speedwatch scheme is expected to be signed off on Friday, providing residents with an opportunity to address speeding issues on their own roads, writes Shay Bottomley.

At the Maidenhead Town Forum on Monday, Jeffrey Pick, community engagement and resilience officer for Windsor and Maidenhead, detailed the plans in which residents can apply for the scheme across the borough.

He said that it is ‘hoped’ that the contract will be signed off on Friday, with the scheme going live on October 1.

People living on roads where there are persistent issues with speeding can apply directly to Thames Valley Police using a new website, which will be announced later this month.

From there, residents will be told if their road is applicable for the scheme; if it is, a speed gun will be sent allowing individuals within the community to monitor speeding.

Fines will not be directly issued at this stage, although drivers caught breaking the speed limit will be sent a letter through the police. It is intended that the community speedwatch scheme is for ‘educational’ rather than ‘enforcement’ purposes.

If issues persist after two months, Thames Valley Police will investigate the issue and send officers to monitor the situation where enforcement action will begin to take place.

Failing that, this will be escalated to the force’s traffic unit, where drivers can face heavier consequences for speeding.

If issues remain after this stage, the police will have sufficient evidence to approach the Royal Borough to suggest appropriate traffic calming methods.

Mr Pick told the forum: “The new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has decided that we will no longer be involved in community speed watch.

“It’s going to be handed down to individual streets; they will ask for a speed watch on a brand new website. This is nothing to do with us at all, [and it’s] funded by the PCC.

“Two pilots have taken place, one was in Bourne End, and in the last six to eight weeks they have registered and send letter to over one thousand cars speeding through the village.”

He added that the council would be able to see the ‘back end’ of the information, meaning no personal details would be provided to the council but they would be able to see the number of cars speeding in a particular area and highlight which roads were ‘causing a problem’.