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Dec 2022

Last Updated: 15/12/2022

Community

Success for Harrogate residents in fight against speeding

by John Plummer

| 15 Dec, 2022

Juliette Robb (red coat) and other residents of the street

A group of Harrogate residents are to receive training in the use of speed cameras as part of a long-running campaign to slow traffic on their street.

Langcliffe Avenue is plagued by motorists using it as a cut through between Leeds Road and Hookstone Road.

A high speed crash shortly before covid heightened concerns and prompted residents to set up a WhatsApp group.

Following an at times frustrating campaign, they are set to become one of about 90 groups in North Yorkshire taking part in the police-led Community Speed Watch initiative.

The scheme enables members of the public to monitor speeding vehicles and pass on details to North Yorkshire Police, which sends warning letters to repeat offenders.

Hilary Vit, who has lived on the street for 30 years, said motorists annoyed by speed bumps on nearby roads tended to put their foot down on Langcliffe Avenue, which has no traffic calming measures.

Ms Vit said the problem was compounded by poor visibility caused by trees lining the avenue.

Jennifer Willcocks said

"Cars drive so fast and there are a lot of children, older people and pets. If a car hits someone at 20mph there is a far greater chance of survival than at 30mph."

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Juliette Robb said the group's attempts to tackle speeding got nowhere with North Yorkshire County Council, which is the highways authority. This prompted it to try Community Speed Watch.

Ms Robb said the residents had organised themselves into two teams, which will take it in turns to monitor traffic.

Local Liberal Democrat county councillor Pat Marsh has agreed to fund the radar guns through her Locality budget. Each county councillor has a budget of £10,000 per year to support specific local activities.

The Langcliffe Avenue group's ultimate aim is to see the speed limit reduced from 30mph to 20mph but this would be determined by the county council and may take some time.

How does Community Speed Watch work?

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:

“The first step in the Community Speed Watch process is to identify areas for the group to stand. Once approved, the group will receive training, and at that point they can either share equipment with other nearby groups or purchase their own equipment.

"Once fully trained, the group can deploy as often as they wish, although most groups deploy for an hour at a time, once or twice a week.

“Any vehicles found to be speeding will have their details taken down and sent to the North Yorkshire Police traffic bureau. Once verified, the registered keepers of those vehicles will receive warning letters. A police officer will attend the address of the registered keeper if they are ‘caught’ three times.

“We currently have about 88 groups taking part in the scheme across North Yorkshire. Since its inception in 2016, around 96% of all offences have been first offences – indicating that people who receive their first warning letter do take the advice on board and adjust their driving behaviour.”

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Success for Harrogate residents in fight against speeding

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