Battle lines drawn as villagers call for speed humps to be axed

More than 600 people, a third of the population of the East Riding village where notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was arrested, have signed a petition calling for the removal of the traffic-calming measures, a decade after they were installed in response to road safety concerns.

Opponents claim they cause unnecessary wear on tyres and do not slow down four-wheel-drive vehicles, as well as making for a bumpy ride.

They want the bumps replaced by flashing warning signs.

But a report to an East Riding Council transport committee tomorrow says the measures are effective and should stay.

Opinion on the bumps is divided, even over what they should be called.

The petition calls them "dreadful lumps in the road", while the council prefers "speed cushions".

Signatories to the petition were urged to "rid this village of all or at the very least the vast majority of speed bumps on our roads".

It said: "No other villages in the surrounding neighbourhood have these encumbrances, so why should Welton?

"Some do have flashing lights instead, which have a speed-reducing effect, and they don't cause damage to vehicles or discomfort to occupants.

"Residents in Cottingham got their road bumps taken up, so if you would like to see the removal of these dreadful lumps in the road at Welton your help would be appreciated."

Welton's 49 bumps were installed in 2000, and a 20mph speed limit was introduced in the centre of the village a year later.

The village, which forms part of the Wolds Way and was where the highwayman Dick Turpin was arrested in 1739, had seen nine collisions and 18 people injured in the four years leading up to the scheme.

There are no reports of anyone being hurt on the roads in question in the last three years, although three children under 16 – two cyclists and a pedestrian – were involved in accidents between 2005 and 2007.

The council said it would cost 25,000 to remove the bumps, and that drivers should be able to negotiate them without damaging their cars if they went over them at an appropriate speed.

The chairman of Welton, Melton and Wauldby Parish Council, Frank Clay, said: "The majority at the time supported the plans and we petitioned the council to get these things put in, although the parish council said we didn't think it was the right thing.

"We got them and now half of them want them taking up.

"You are betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea whatever you do.

"I can't see East Riding Council going to the expense of taking them up."

The issue will be discussed at the parish council's annual meeting next week.

The vice-chairman and planning officer at the parish council, Derek Fairweather, said: "Opinion is divided but I personally don't know anybody who wants them retained.

"I do know a lot of people find these things very intrusive."

The report said the cost would be better spent reducing casualties in other areas, and concluded: "Speed cushions are a proven method of reducing speed and discouraging 'rat-running'.

"Where traffic speeds are low reaction time is maximised and this has probably contributed to the low casualty figures that have been achieved since the introduction of the scheme.

"The removal of traffic-calming measures in Welton could result in increased vehicle speeds and reintroduce all the casualty problems now largely absent."