News / Barton Hill
Residents take speeding issue into their own hands
Frustrated residents of a road in east Bristol fed up with speeding traffic have taken the problem into their own hands.
People living on Mildred Street, which has a 20mph speed limit, feel “scared” and “unsafe” as motorists use their road as a shortcut from nearby trading estates.
To tackle the issue, residents of the street in Barton Hill have come together to install traffic calming measures in a last-ditch attempt to slow down vehicles.
Now on the edge of the narrow terrace lay planters and bins adorned with signs imploring “hooligan” motorists to “please drive carefully” and “slow down”.
Nathoo, who works in transport, said: “This is a beautiful place to live in, everybody talks to everybody. The only trouble is we get some hooligans speeding down the street” – photo: Betty Woolerton
Naz Nathoo, who has lived on the corner of Mildred Street with his family for 35 years, has bore the brunt of careless drivers.
He said: “We have a lovely neighbourhood here, but we have all really had it with this traffic. The worst of it is my car has been hit twice by speeding cars, and my house is all done up because a car went straight through it last year.
Fellow resident Simone Davis, who was responsible for planting bulbs in the tubs, echoed Nathoo’s concerns.
She said: “Sometimes you need to take matters in your own hands as otherwise change takes too long – but we have reported it to the council.”
Davis added: “When people race up the street, it’s quite a scary and unsafe feeling. I have lived here for seven years and within in that time three cars have been ruined by drivers crashing into them.
“We just want Mildred Street to be a safe place for pedestrians to be out and enjoy the neighbourhood.”
Residents of Mildred Street and Hanover Street clubbed together together to install their own traffic calming measures and signs – photo: Betty Woolerton
In September 2021, locals in the area submitted a petition to council to install traffic calming measures and implement restrictions on types of vehicles on Mildred Street.
But Green councillor for Easton Barry Parsons said that motorists are still using it as a cut-through from trading estates on Feeder Road.
He said: “It’s been rat-run for years, and I suspect it’s an awful lot of drivers being directed by sat nav – even though it’s such a narrow street.”
“When people are passing through a street that’s not their own, there’s a tendency to speed when it’s not their community.”
On an interactive map published as part of a consultation, 10 complaints about road safety on Mildred Street have been submitted – image: East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods
Speaking about ways to improve safety in the area, Parsons said the “obvious thing” is to “close that rat run – whether that’s on Marsh Lane, Mildred Street itself or further up”.
He added: “To me, that would be the most straightforward thing to do, and it would mean that Mildred Street was only then being used by local residents – as it should be.
“I think our only chance to do this through the East Bristol Liveable Neighborhood pilot. That is looking at removing and reducing through traffic throughout the whole area from Barton Hill to Troopers Hill.”
Mildred Street is a “rat-run”, according to a local Green councillor – photo: Betty Woolerton
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read more: “A little inconvenience for those of us who can transform our neighbourhood”
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