Exminster Wins £50,000 To Tackle Traffic Problems

3.53.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 11th Apr 2009

The Devon village of Exminster has been awarded £50,000 for a much needed scheme to ease traffic problems at the centre of the busy community.

Devon County Council has earmarked the funding for much sought after improvements after lobbying from local county councillor Alan Connett and Exminster Parish Council. Conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles, traffic congestion and parking problems have all combined to make the need for a new scheme to try and sort out the problems a priority for the local community.

Cllr Alan Connett explained: " Exminster has a very busy centre, with local shops, but the pavement is only on one side of the road and is also quite narrow. There have been incidents in the past couple of years with children being hit by wing mirrors, for example, and very many residents have been asking for improvements. Highways staff are currently developing a scheme to manage traffic in the village centre and also stop some of the problems caused by parking in the wrong place, creating obstructions and stopping traffic, including buses, from getting through."

When the design work is completed, Exminster Parish Council will be asked for its comments before a wider consultation is undertaken for village residents, added Cllr Connett: "This is a very real step forward and I am delighted for local residents that the money has been approved by the county council. Volume and speed of traffic are two of the biggest concerns reported by the police following a recent survey of views they completed in Exminster."

Cllr Alan Connett.

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