Another month, another councillors’ surgery. Last Saturday I was regaled again with residents angry at what they see as the council’s non response to road safety issues. For many years the council has stuck by its policy of only putting in traffic calming measures after major accidents have occurred that caused death or serious injuries. They seem incapable of understanding that residents do not feel safe on their own streets any more.

Despite the many petitions and angry residents that have come to TMAP (the Council’s  Traffic Management Advisory Panel), we never seem to get very far. The only advance I have seen in my two and a half years on the council is the decision to buy speed guns for the use of local neighbourhood police teams, something that I pushed through into this year’s budget with the help of my fellow Lib Dem councillors.

For the rest, the Administration and the council officers seem to represent a brick wall, they are certainly not listening to the public they are supposed to work for. The latest Speed Awareness campaign targets a road every few weeks, puts up a few palstic signs and, if you are lucky, one Smiley Sid flashing warning light. At the end of two weeks they are moved on to another road with very little lingering effect. It is a fine example of the council trying hard to be seen to be doing something but not really making a difference.

There is no effort to put up more Smiley Sid signs, no discussion of 20mph speed limits, no use of speed guns until the Lib Dems came up with  the idea – just a refusal to think about humps or chicanes or anything until there are serious accidents and blood on the road.

We simply have to address road safety as a council, we can no longer turn away and ignore residents calls to make their streets safe for young and old, able and disabled alike. For many years anti-social behaviour was also ignored by local and central government and only after many years campaigning has this been turned round. Nowadyas we finally have neighbourhood police teams taking responsibility for local law and order and also taking their priorities from local people.

Speeding must be the next issue to tackle.