New crossing proposed for Totnes road where drivers clocked speeding
A South Hams highways committee will be asked on the third of November to spend three hundred and twenty-two thousand pounds on a crossing on Bridgetown Hill
A Totnes road where almost 250 drivers broke the speed limit inside just 12 hours could be in line for a new pedestrian crossing.
The busy A385 up and down Bridgetown Hill gets tens of thousands of cars every day, and is the main road linking the town to Torbay.
Members of the South Hams highways and traffic orders committee (HATOC), who meet in Totnes next week (November 3) are being recommended to spend £322,000 on a new crossing below Jubilee Road.
There is no crossing at the location at present, and the nearest safe crossing is further down the hill towards Totnes, at the junction with Bourton Road.
The new installation will be a ‘Puffin’ – a pedestrian user-friendly intelligent crossing – which is controlled by sensors. It uses infra-red or motion sensors to detect whether pedestrians are waiting to cross and will cancel the request if someone walks away before crossing.
It will also hold the red traffic light for longer if someone is crossing slowly.
A report to the meeting says the A385 at Bridgetown Hill carried more than 16,000 vehicles in a 12-hour period during which count was taken in May. The road has a 30mph limit, with a speed survey in 2023 showing the average speed of vehicles at 29.8mph.
However, 15 per cent of drivers – meaning 240 of the sample count – were clocked at more than 34mph.
Local people raised their concerns with a petition to the HATOC a year ago, and the report goes on to say that the new crossing will improve access to bus stops on both sides of Bridgetown Hill which serve Paignton, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Hospital, as well as school services to King Edward VI Community College, Churston Grammar School and schools in Torquay.
It adds: “A crossing is required to provide a safe and controlled means of accessing these services, improving connectivity for local residents and supporting access to education, employment, healthcare and other essential destinations.”