Get rid of our speed humps!

RESIDENTS last night called for 24 speed humps in Carlton to be removed.

The bumps in Cavendish Road and Foxhill Road were installed in 2004, at a cost of £300,000.

But residents say they do not slow drivers down, damage residents' cars and divert traffic onto neighbouring roads.

Speaking at the meeting in the Cavendish pub, Pauline Musson, of Cavendish Road, said: "HGVs and cement lorries belt straight over the humps to save going through the speed cameras on other roads."

Resident John Thorp, 73, said traffic in Cromford Avenue, off Cavendish Road, had increased by 22% since the humps were introduced.

Before the meeting, he said drivers which had used Cavendish Road were using other streets instead. "They go racing up Cromford Avenue now. I've lost two cats because of it," he said.

The Evening Post yesterday reported that Inspector Mark Towlson said the humps slowed down police response times and other traffic calming measures could be used instead.

At last night's meeting, Coun Bruce Laughton, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Gedling, said there were other effective ways of slowing drivers down, such as flashing interactive signs.

Resident Tom Butcher, a former police sergeant, said people reacted more positively to signs than humps or speed cameras.

He said: "I have not yet come across and argument in favour of speed humps. Some people think they slow people down, but they don't."

Residents said they wanted the humps removed in favour of speed cameras or interactive speed signs.

Outside the meeting, Notts Police Authority chair Coun John Clarke, a county councillor for Carlton East, said: "I have never liked bumps. I think there are better ways. I would much prefer chicanes."

But outside the meeting, Coun Stella Smedley, Notts County Council cabinet member for Transport, said speed humps were an effective way to save lives.

"Nobody likes them. None of us do. But we don't put road humps in just for fun."

samantha.hughes @nottinghameveningpost.co.uk