RESIDENTS living in the village of East Worldham, who are forced to use the B3004 on a regular basis, are felt to be surviving "on a wing and a prayer". That is the view of parish councillors who believe motorists drive "too fast" through the village and that the existing speed limit should be reduced. What they are after is a cut from 40 to 30 mph, supported by traffic calming measures through the widest section of road from the Three Horse Shoes to the top of Worldham Hill. While a recent traffic survey has just confirmed the average speed as 44 mph in a 40 mph zone, two accidents occurring in just six days this month has strengthened local resolve to hold out for improvements. Although Hampshire County highways might argue that it is difficult enough to enforce the 40 mph restriction, and that a further reduction would simply result in more speeding traffic, the parish council believes it would be no more difficult to enforce a 30 mph order and that some drivers are law- abiding and adhere to the speed limit. East Worldham wants to follow Kingsley's lead by conducting a trial speed limit reduction based on traffic self- regulation. And if the road geometry is a limiting factor in the introduction of traffic calming measures, then the parish believes something should be done to address this - logically by cutting down the width of the road through the village to encourage traffic to slow down as it approaches the brow of the hill. At last week's parish council meeting Pc Paul Underwood explained about the introduction of safer roads officers whose job it was to spend time monitoring traffic on roads such as the B3004. He pointed out that two thirds of the 40 mph signs on the road were covered by foliage and would be more effective if they could be clearly seen. And, while he agreed that speed limit indicators on the road surface were "gems", he felt over-signing could be more of a hindrance. There was real concern among residents that further speed restrictions would not be considered by Hampshire highways authority until an accident history developed within the village and blood had been shed. In a report to the meeting, councillor William Bagnell said that this rumour had caused much upset in the community. "We don't want it to come to that," he stressed. Mr Bagnell further pointed out that in their professional lives people were now required by law to constantly update their risk assessments lest any future accident takes place. "This does not seem to apply here. The fact that very few accidents have occurred is due to people who live on the hill and near the pub being very careful and frankly existing with a continual sense of living on a 'wing and a prayer. "No one thinks there is a quick fix but our argument is that the current traffic speed is just not safe, and we are trying to slowly bring the highways authority on board with this." Another major concern was for the speed of traffic travelling along the stretch of road past Oaklands Farm, between Worldham Hill and the Oakhanger crossroads. While this stretch of road was widened some 10 years ago, it was said to have been subject to three fatalities and there were concerns that, with the speed of traffic as it is, there could be more to come. One resident expressed concern over the motorbikes that race along the road every Wednesday evening, heading for a meeting at Alton Station. Councillors were keen to examine ways in which non-essential users could be persuaded to avoid the hill, either via quality freight partnerships or signage stating delivery only and access restricted to the existing businesses Mr Bagnell had also asked Hampshire highways for confirmation that local residents were given equal status with commercial road users when it came to road usage and safety issues. "So bad is the situation felt to be that people in the village are grimly looking to the future. They want a proper survey to look at what might be done and they want the status of the B3004 reviewed," he said
