We are grateful for your support in signing and sharing our petition to allow us to deploy our SLR (speed limit reminder) to obtain traffic flow and speed data on the B4640. The petition gained over 1,000 signatures and on the back of this we asked Hampshire County Council (HCC) to open a dialogue with us, Newtown Parish Council, about what measures could be taken to reduce the speed along this dangerous stretch of road.
Initially, HCC rejected our request outright. Following further correspondence regarding the SLR and the speed limits on the B4640 in general, we have received a response from Cllr Nick Adams-King (Lead Cabinet Member for Highways).
Whilst HCC is still firm on their decision to not allow us to deploy our own SLR, they have offered to carry out a traffic survey on behalf of the Parish Council to give an initial indication of whether a reduction in the speed limit is appropriate. We have requested input into the design and implementation of the proposed survey to ensure it is representative of typical traffic flows and speeds over a reasonable period of time including weekends. We feel it is important to obtain a clear picture of traffic flows and speeds along this narrow single carriageway road which has many trackway and house entrances, and an entrance to a school and the pub car park.
In addition we are continuing to press HCC , with regards to their responsibilities on the speed limit setting and design of the road to align with the current speed limit. We will provide further update when available.