Resident blasts GoSafe for response to town’s speeding problem

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

A resident living on a speeding driver ‘rat-run’ says road safety partnership GoSafe has refused to explain why it won’t enforce speed monitoring.

Richard Shone says drivers using the narrow Linthorpe Road in Buckley routinely exceed the 20mph limit – but his pleas for traffic calming measures and speed enforcement have been dismissed.

“It’s not safe,” he said. “Cars and e-bikes come racing up here clearly over the speed limit and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“This is a road with a lot of older residents but many drivers give that no consideration at all and it’s only a matter of time before there is a serious incident.

“It’s always been an issue but I finally took it up last year when one of our cats was killed on the road. I thought it would be simple to get GoSafe to add our road to their list and carry out some speed monitoring to crack down on the issue.”

Richard enlisted the help of Buckley Pentrobin Cllr Mike Peers to try to make the road safer.

Initially GoSafe conducted a traffic count – where cables are laid across the road to measure traffic levels and speeds. That data showed between 10% and 20% of vehicles travelling between 31mph and 40mph in the 20mph zone. Its lowest measurement tracked vehicles travelling between 0-30mph, leaving the prospect that a higher percentage were actually speeding.

Richard and Cllr Peers thought that after this GoSafe would take further action. But despite repeated letters and requests they were told that the road does not meet the criteria for GoSafe enforcement.

GoSafer did not even instruct the voluntary Buckley Community Speedwatch team to visit the road to carry out any monitoring.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Richard. “Many of the letters and emails I sent were ignored or I was promised a response that never came which is bad enough.

“We were eventually told the road doesn’t meet the criteria – but when we asked what that criteria was we got no answer.

“Are they waiting for someone to be seriously hurt? Do we have to have an accident – or a certain number of accidents – before we qualify? It seems we should be trying to prevent casualties, not using them as a benchmark.

“All we want to know is what are the criteria for becoming a GoSafe location. We know there are 20mph zones they monitor.”

Richard even reached out to Flintshire County Council to see if they could help liaise with GoSafe of provide some detail as to how roads are selected.

“They told me that they have no say over where GoSafe enforced speed limits,” he said. “They also told me as it was a 20mph zone it doesn’t qualify for traffic calming like speed bumps.

“So we have no enforcement and don’t know what we need to do to qualify.”

Reform UK Wales Cllr Peers said all they wanted was clarity for residents.

“I’ve been working with Richard on this for some time,” he said. “I’ve also involved the Police and Crime Commissioner to try and get answers.

“We were simply asking GoSafe for the criteria they use in establishing which roads they are going to monitor with the camera vans but there seems to be a reluctance to provide this.”

GoSafe was approached for comment.

Buckley Community Speedwatch leader Cllr Arnold Woolley urged residents to make a specific request to become an approved location for monitoring.

“Community Speedwatch teams are only allowed to operate at specific roadside locations which have been chosen by GoSafe at North Wales Police HQ.” he said.

“Each of those locations carries a specific code number, such as S123 or the like.

“If concerned residents on Linthorpe Road wish to try to become an approved location, they need to contact our manager John Morris at [email protected].

“That should get the process rolling. Once I have been informed of a location and identifying code, the Buckley CSW team will gladly do some speed monitoring on Linthorpe Road.”

Katie Wilby, Flintshiren County Council’s Chief Officer for Streetscene and Transportation, said: “We work alongside GoSafe, North Wales Police and other road safety partners to address road safety concerns across the county.

“While enforcement activity for speeding related offences is a matter for GoSafe and the police, the council shares relevant information, including concerns raised by residents and data collected through traffic surveys, to support decisions about monitoring and enforcement.

“Roads considered for enforcement or monitoring are assessed using a range of factors which can include traffic speed data, collision history, police intelligence, and community concerns. The specific criteria and prioritisation process for enforcement operations are determined by GoSafe.

“The council’s role is to investigate concerns raised about the highway network, undertake traffic surveys where appropriate, and consider whether engineering, education or other road safety measures may be required.

“We do not direct GoSafe’s enforcement programme but maintains regular dialogue with road safety partners and will continue to raise concerns where evidence suggests there may be a road safety issue.”

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