Bracknell

A new, portable speed indication device (SID) has been putting the brakes on speeding motorists in College Town.

Put into use by Bracknell Cllr Peter North, Executive Member for Public Protection for Bracknell Forest Borough Council, the SID monitors and displays the speed of approaching vehicles. Drivers can see the speed they are travelling at and almost without exception, they slow down, even when they are within the speed limit.

Details of speeding vehicles are recorded and entered on a police database and the owners of the vehicles receive a letter from the police.

Cllr Peter North, said: "College Town was the obvious choice for the pilot work. Local people had raised major concerns at their Neighbourhood Forum last autumn about two particular roads. As a result of what they told us, we purchased this SID to try and slow the traffic down in the areas residents said were of most concern. The results to date are remarkably good."

John Coupland is a local resident and volunteer co-ordinator of this work. John said: "I have been concerned about speeding vehicles and the associated noise on our roads for years. This machine has had the immediate effect of reducing speeding. In recent days, cars have been driving very sensibly indeed. The SID has worked well and quickly. I jumped at the chance to get actively involved as a volunteer and to help make my area safer."

Volunteers for projects such as this are recruited through the recently launched Take Pride campaign which allows those who feel strongly about local problems to get actively involved in reducing them. The scheme is operated by volunteers and has the support of Thames Valley Police and the Council.

Sgt Graham Thorne of Bracknell Police Station, in charge of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "This work is exceptionally helpful to us. We do what we can but with the support we are getting from local people it allows us to focus our time on regular offenders rather than monitoring all vehicles, most of which are driving perfectly well. The volunteers are a tremendously valuable resource and I am very grateful to them for their efforts."

Bracknell Cllr North added: "This work is about helping people to help themselves. If they put something in, they get something back. I would like to thank all those volunteers who have already committed to help and a special thanks to John Coupland in particular."

The next Neighbourhood Forum for Owlsmoor and College Town is at 7.30pm on 26 June at the New Owlsmoor Community Centre.

This is one of the last in the current round of neighbourhood forum meetings to take place in the borough.

The two further meetings this month are in:

* Martin's Heron, The Warren and Harmans Water on Wednesday 28th June, 7.30pm at Harmans Water Primary School and
* Binfield on Thursday 29th June, 7.30pm at Binfield CoE Primary School.

In the first round of meetings, last autumn, residents raised a number of local concerns, including anti-social behaviour, speeding, parking, environmental issues and the nuisance use of motorcycles. This round of meetings has given local people the opportunity to find out what has happened since then and to say if they think things have improved.

The next round of forums are due to kick off in the autumn, starting in Crown Wood and Forest Park on Monday 9th October, 7.30pm at Crown Wood Primary School.

For more information on Neighbourhood Forums and Take Pride call Bracknell Forest Borough Council on: 01344 352000 or log on to: www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/takepride and register online.

To speak to a member of your neighbourhood policing team, contact: 0845 8 505 505

Bracknell Forest Borough Council