Business owner sceptical over 20mph scheme across whole of Cambridgeshire town
A decision is expected at a county council meeting today
A decision on whether to impose a 20 mile an hour speed limit across Soham is expected later today.
It's a place which already has these speed limits on certain roads, but county councillors are due to talk about the plans on the request of Soham Town Council.
The meeting comes almost two months after Cambridgeshire County Council agreed to prioritise funding for 20 more 20mph schemes for 2023-24.
Jacky Hibbert owns the Jak Hibs shop on Soham High Street:
"Sometimes a lot of people do go really fast; it's supposed to be 20mph along here but a lot of drivers don't stick to it and if a child runs out (onto the road), they wouldn't stand a chance," she said.
"In theory, it's probably a good idea if it saves people getting seriously injured or even death, but who's going to enforce it?
"If people stick to the 20mph, you'll still get a build-up of cars all at once and then when there's no cars, it will be fine."
What's been said about the plans?
A report published by the county council ahead of the meeting set out responses to its consultation on the plans.
Some have spoken against the proposals, while others have said it's a step forwards.
The county council hopes that by introducing more 20mph speed limits across Cambridgeshire, it will help improve road safety and reduce pollution by encouraging people to walk and cycle more often.
One person said they believed the county council was “very much mistaken” that people would follow the lower speed limit.
“Everyone in Soham already knows that they can park wherever they like and not adhere to speed limits because they are not being watched," they said.
“So what makes the authority think that it will be any different just by wasting money on 20mph sign posts. It won’t make any difference at all.”
Council officers said they acknowledged there would be “very little police enforcement” of the 20mph speed limit, but that evidence suggested speeds will be reduced, which they said would still improve safety.
"Most people are going to ignore it"
Ken has lived on Soham High Street for 60 years.
"It's absolutely ridiculous; living on the High Street where it is a 20mph limit, most people are doing 30, 40, 50mph and people are going to just ignore it," he said.
"I've watched it all change, so a 20mph limit is a total waste of money, except perhaps where it should be in the town or in front of schools and hospitals where it's necessary."
Mel hopes more people will be encouraged to stick to the speed limit if it's in force in more places.
"I think 20mph as a driver is quite difficult because when you're driving, it's really slow but as a pedestrian, I feel like it could be good if people stick to it," she said.
"I believe if it was throughout the whole of Soham, people would get the idea they'd have to slow down, but I guess it's difficult to enforce."
Nadine wants more enforcement: "There's never any police around; people park where they want and do what speed they want."
Cambridgeshire Constabulary said it did not object to the proposals, but suggested that on some of the wider and straight roads a 30mph speed limit would be more appropriate.
In the report, officers said that in the “interests of consistency, inclusivity and clarity” they still recommended for the 20mph speed limit to apply to all of the roads.